If an employee experiences the loss of a family member or close loved one, they may need to take bereavement leave. As an employer in these circumstances, it’s important you know bereavement leave entitlements.
Bereavement leave
Bereavement leave is provided as an entitlement under the National Employment Standards (NES).
When a member of an employee’s immediate family or household dies, they are entitled to 2 paid days of bereavement (compassionate) leave. This also includes if the employee or employee’s partner has a miscarriage.
Bereavement leave does not need to be taken immediately or on consecutive days.
An immediate family member could be the employee’s:
- Grandparent.
- Parent.
- Child.
- Grandchild.
- Sibling.
- Partner.
- Partner’s parent
Bereavement leave can also be used for:
- Cultural responsibilities in relation to the death.
- Managing an estate or organising finances.
Bereavement can be a very challenging time and managing this process with empathy and understanding is very important for the ongoing relationship between you and your employee.
Bereavement leave eligibility
Employees are eligible to two days of bereavement leave from their very first day of employment. Unlike annual leave bereavement leave does not accumulate and roll into the next year. Bereavement leave is offered because of the circumstance of a loss. Employees can only request bereavement leave per occasion.
Can I ask an employee for evidence?
As long as the request is reasonable you can ask an employee for evidence of their relationship to the deceased. This can be a very sensitive time so be mindful your employee may be emotional if you do require evidence. In addition, consider, in good faith, any difficulties for the employee to provide evidence.
Proof could include:
- A death certificate. Although this is not issued immediately and can take time to acquire.
- A death notice from a newspaper or funeral home.
- A funeral notice or service program.
- A statutory declaration from the employee.
If your employee provides you with evidence, you can ensure that information remains confidential with BrightHR’s secure cloud document storage.
Can I decline bereavement leave?
If an employee is entitled to bereavement leave, then as an employer you cannot decline their request.
In some circumstances, an employee may need more time to deal with the loss of a loved one. You can allow an employee to take additional bereavement leave in excess of their minimum entitlement. You and your employee may agree to them taking annual leave in addition to bereavement leave.
Bereavement leave policy
Business owners and employers may benefit from having a bereavement leave policy. This policy can support employees during tough times and ensure they understand what is expected from them.
The policy should include
- Number of working days provided as bereavement leave. Must be a minimum of two.
- The eligibility period of when leave can be taken.
- Whether an extension to bereavement leave is paid or unpaid.
- The definition of an immediate family member (spouse, parents, siblings, etc).
Do I need to pay full wages to staff on bereavement leave?
When an employee is on bereavement leave, they must be paid what they would have earned if they had worked that day.
If the leave falls on a public holiday where the employee would have normally worked, the day is treated as a paid, unworked public holiday. This means you do not have to pay public holiday entitlements.
Under the NES, bereavement leave is not paid to casual employees. The two days can be taken as unpaid leave. If a modern award or enterprise agreement provides paid bereavement leave to casuals, you must comply with the award provision.
If an employee is just about to take or is on annual leave and experiences a bereavement, the employee can use their bereavement leave entitlement for the appropriate period.
Support employees on bereavement leave with Peninsula
Employees will need privacy and support during the grieving process. As an employer or manager, you need to approach bereavement with sensitively and empathy. You also need to understand people deal with loss very differently.
Wisdom Wellbeing is Peninsula’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). It is available to Peninsula client employees and their partner, spouse and genuine dependants aged 16 or over. This confidential service can help people struggling with bereavement, which may be impacting their mental health, or professional challenges effecting their work performance.
Peninsula has helped thousands of Australian businesses support their staff and build fair workplaces. Bereavement leave can be a sensitive issue and must be handled with thoughtful care.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.