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An employee can take 2 weeks’ leave from the first day of their employment for each child who has died or was stillborn.

They can choose to take:

• 2 weeks together
• 2 separate weeks of leave
• only one week of leave

The leave:

• can start on or after the date of the death or stillbirth
• must finish within 56 weeks of the date of the death or stillbirth

Taking leave with other types of statutory leave

If the employee was on another type of statutory leave when the death or stillbirth happened, Parental Bereavement Leave must start after that other leave has ended. This includes whether the statutory leave is for another child.

If an employee’s Parental Bereavement Leave is interrupted by the start of another type of statutory leave, they can take their remaining entitlement to Parental Bereavement Leave after that other leave has ended.

The remaining Parental Bereavement Leave must still be taken within 56 weeks of the date of death or stillbirth.

Parental Bereavement Leave can be taken between blocks of shared parental leave that had already been booked when the child died, even if the shared parental leave is for another child.

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay for an eligible employee or worker is either:

• £187.18 a week or;
• 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).

Tax and National Insurance need to be deducted.

Calculate Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay using or .

Some employment types, like agency workers, directors, and educational workers, have .

Extra leave or pay

Your company can offer more leave and pay, but you can only recover 2 weeks’ payment for each employee or worker and for each death. You should make sure your Parental Bereavement Leave and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay policies are clear and easily accessible to staff.

Employment rights

An employee’s rights (like the right to pay rises, holidays, and returning to a job) are protected during Parental Bereavement Leave. You still have to pay Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay even if you stop trading.  

Eligibility for leave and pay

To qualify for Parental Bereavement Leave and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, an employee must meet the criteria both as a parent (including if they had day-to-day responsibility) and as an employee. They might not be eligible for both.

Eligibility for pay

To qualify for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, an employee or worker must meet the conditions of entitlement, including the criteria as a parent.

If the employee or worker was the child’s parent or the parent’s partner

An employee or worker will be eligible if, at the time of the child’s death or stillbirth, they were:

• the child’s or baby’s parent - either biological, adoptive, or parent of a child born to a surrogate
• the partner of the child’s or baby’s parent

Biological parents are not eligible once an adoption or parental order has been made unless there was a contact order in place after the adoption.

If the employee or worker was not the child’s parent but had day-to-day responsibility for the child

An employee or worker may be eligible if they or their partner had:

• the child or baby living with them at their home for 4 continuous weeks, ending with the date of the death
• day-to-day responsibility for the child's or baby’s care during that time

If the employee or worker, or their partner, was paid to look after the child, they’re not entitled to leave or pay unless they were:

• a foster parent paid a fee or allowance by a local authority
• reimbursed for expenses related to the care of the child or baby
• getting payments under the terms of a will or trust for the child's or baby’s care

An employee or worker is not eligible if one of the child or baby’s parents or someone who had for the child was also living in the household.

If the employee or worker was an adoptive parent

If they or their partner was an adoptive parent, an employee is eligible:

• after the was granted
• before the adoption order was granted, if the child was placed with them for adoption and the placement was not disrupted (for example, being temporarily placed elsewhere) or stopped

If the employee or worker was an adoptive parent of a child from outside the United Kingdom

If the employee or worker and their partner were adopting a child from outside the United Kingdom and the court order had not yet been made, they may still be eligible. Both of the following must apply:

• the child was living with them
• they have an ‘official notification’ confirming they were allowed to adopt

If the employee or worker had a baby with the help of a surrogate parent

If they or their partner were a parent of a child born to a surrogate, an employee or worker is eligible:

• after a parental order was made
• before a parental order was made, if they had applied or intended to apply for a parental order within 6 months of the child’s birth and expected it to be granted

Parental Bereavement Leave

To get Parental Bereavement Leave, the employee must also:

• be classed as an employee - it does not matter how long they’ve worked for you
• give you the correct notice for Parental Bereavement Leave

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

To get Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, the employee or worker must have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the ‘relevant week’. The ‘relevant week’ is the week (ending with a Saturday) immediately before the week of the death or stillbirth.

They must also:

• remain employed by you up to the day the child dies or is stillborn
• earn on average £125 a week (gross)
• give you the correct notice for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

Use the to check entitlement and to work out the relevant week.

There are for some employee situations, for example, if they leave or become sick.

Non-payment form

You can refuse Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay if the employee does not qualify.

To do this, send them a completed or your own equivalent form within 28 days of their pay request with evidence. You should keep a record of the week that was refused and the reason why.

If an employee is unhappy with your decision, they can . They must do this within 6 months of the start date of the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay period they claimed.

Record keeping

You must keep records for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), including:

• the start date for any period Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay was paid
• the payments you’ve made (including dates)
• a copy of the evidence of entitlement from the employee for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, including their written declaration, name, and date of the child’s death or stillbirth
• details of any weeks the employee claimed Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay but you did not pay, and the reason why

You must keep records for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.

You can use HMRC’s or your own.

Get help with statutory pay

For financial help with statutory pay, you can:

• apply for an advance if you cannot afford the payments

Apply for an advance if you cannot afford the payments

You can apply online for an advance to pay for an employee’s Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay.

Before you start, you’ll need:

• your employer PAYE reference
• your payment or account office reference numbers - this is on the letter when you first registered as an employer
• the amount of tax or National Insurance owed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
• bank or building society details for you or the third party it’s being paid to
• a completed if the advance is being paid to a third party

You’ll also need information about the employee, including their:

• National Insurance number
• average weekly earnings
• parental bereavement leave and pay arrangements - you can get this information from their self-declaration

Your advance can be paid either by BACS or payable order.

if you’ve got questions about advance payments.

Apply online

if you have a Government Gateway user ID and password.

If you do not have a Government Gateway user ID and password, you can create one when you apply.

After you’ve applied

If the advance is being paid to a third party and you’re sending a completed R38 form by post, send it to HMRC within 4 weeks of applying for an advance.

Corporate Treasury
HMRC
BX9 1BG

Once your application has been approved, the money will be paid to the bank or building society account you provided, or you’ll be sent a cheque (payable order), depending on which payment option you chose.

If there are any issues with your application, HMRC will contact you directly.

Paying back your advance payment

You’ll need to through Employer Payment Summary (EPS).

An employee must give notice for Parental Bereavement Leave as well as evidence for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay.

Parental Bereavement Leave

An employee has 56 weeks to take Parental Bereavement Leave. This starts from the date of the child’s death.

The 56 weeks is split into 2 periods:

• from the date of the death or stillbirth to 8 weeks after
• 9 to 56 weeks after the date of the death or stillbirth

They can take 2 weeks’ leave in one block or as 2 separate blocks of one week.

You must get notice from the employee before they take Parental Bereavement Leave. How much notice depends on when they’re taking leave.

0 to 8 weeks after the child’s death or stillbirth

An employee must give you notice before the time they would normally start work on the first day of the period they want to take off work.

9 to 56 weeks after the child’s death or stillbirth

An employee must give you at least one week’s notice before the start of the week or weeks they want to take off work.

How employees should give you notice

They should tell you:

• the date of the child’s death or stillbirth
• when they want their Parental Bereavement Leave to begin
• how much leave they are taking - either 1 or 2 weeks

An employee can give you notice informally, for example, by phone, text message, or email. You cannot ask for:

• notice for leave in writing (such as following up with an email, letter, or form)
• notice to cancel leave in writing
• evidence of entitlement for leave
• details about the employee’s relationship to the child or baby

Cancelling Parental Bereavement Leave

An employee can cancel their Parental Bereavement Leave if they’ve given you the required notice for taking leave.

If they were starting the leave within 8 weeks of the death or stillbirth, they must let you know about the cancellation no later than the time they would normally start work on the first day of the planned leave.

If they were starting the leave 9 weeks or later after the death or stillbirth, they must let you know no later than one week before the start of the planned leave.

They can rebook another week’s leave if they cancel before the leave was due to start, and they give you the correct notice.

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

An employee must ask for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay within 28 days (or as soon as is reasonably practicable), starting with the first day of the week they want to claim pay for.

They must give you in writing (for example, a letter or email) each time:

• the dates of the period they want to claim Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay
• their name
• the date of the child’s death or stillbirth

The employee will also need to give you a self-declaration to confirm they are eligible because of their relationship to the child or baby - they only need to provide this once when they first ask for pay.

Cancelling Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

An employee can cancel their Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay if they’ve given you the required notice for claiming pay.

If their pay was due to start within 8 weeks of the child’s death or stillbirth, they must give you notice on the first day of the week of pay they want to cancel.