Information On The Parental Bereavement Bill

In the tragic event that an employee has a child that dies under the age of 18 the they will be entitled to leave from work for a period of time when a new Bill is launched. The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill has now been presented to Parliament, and this Bill provides a right for all employed parents to be absent from work for two weeks following the death of a child that was under 18 years of age.

Paid Statutory Flat Rate Pay

Those parents who have at least 26 weeks continuous service will also be entitled to receive parental bereavement pay which will be paid at the statutory flat rate, which is currently £145.18 per week, or 90% of the employees average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower figure of the two. This Parental Bereavement Bill is likely to come into effect by the year 2020 once it is ratified by Parliament. The delay is believed to be due to the lead-in time that Her Majesty`s Revenue and Customs requires to implement the statutory pay charges, but it is always good to know well in advance of these types of changes and obligations.

Employers Claiming Back Payments

As far as employers are concerned they will be able to claim back most of these payments for bereaved parents from the Government.


We are here at GCS Solicitors to advise businesses and organisations on all aspects of employment law, and of course we also help employees if they feel they are being discriminated against or not getting the pay they believe they are entitled to etc.


Whatever the issue you have you can count on GCS to help you out and ensure you are complying with all your legal obligations if you are a business and an employer. For more information on our services please give us a call in the first instance on 028 3752 5999.