bereavement time off work

[dirtyfacedangel]

how many days bereavement leave from work do you get if a close family member dies?
we had always booked holidays where i work but suddenly we have been told it is four days?
can anyone help

[ChuckFickens]

http://www.direct.gov...dFamilies/DG_10026555

"You are allowed 'reasonable' time off to deal with the emergency and make any arrangements that are needed"

[mosesg]

At our work it is 5 days but any extra is at the line manager's discretion

[buildersmate]

Two things here - which you need to separate.
You are entitled to 'reasonable time' off because the Government says so. There is no definition of reasonable - individual companies may have declared policies (ask) - if not it is management discretion.
You cannot assume that you will be paid for any of the days - but once again you may be paid if policy says so or management discretion applies.
Ask.

[dothawkes31]

In my last job we had 'compassionate days' which were 3 paid days allowed a year for domestic emergencies which included bereavement. In my new job it is purely on an individual situation basis. Each case is treated on it's merits. If they are letting you have 4 days and you need more get a sick note from your doctor.

[buildersmate]

Pardon? Why?

[dothawkes31]

why should dirtyfaceangel get a sick not from their doctor if their company are unwilling to give them time offf for a bereavement? So they can have more time off with pay and not feel any extra distress or pressure. But hopefully it won't come to that. There is no reason someone who suffers a loss cannot see their doctor and ask to be signed off work to enable them to grieve. My daughter had 6 months off on sick pay due to the loss of 4 close friends.

[buildersmate]

Because that's abusing the system.
Sick notes are for when you are sick.
In any event, one signs oneself off for the first 4 days of (genuine) sickness - though purchase of a private sick note is possible.
If anyone tried such a stunt on me they would get a counselling interview.

[factor-fiction]

I agree with buildersmate. I think it's unwise to take days off sick unless you are genuinely unfit to do any work as you may find later that when you are genuinely ill and need time off your absence record could trigger a Capability disciplinary meeting.

[carrot99]

If a close family member dies and I take close to mean parent, child, sibling or partner surely you would not expect an employee to be fit to work in four days? I agree with dot that in this case a doctor's certificate, until at least after the funeral, would be acceptable.

In the case of more distant relatives like a cousin or aunt then I should think the 4 given days would be more than sufficient in most cases - although personally I think for non-close relatives just a day off work for the funeral is enough. (I know some people are closer to their cousins than their mothers etc etc but you need to draw a line somewhere)

[buildersmate]

Do you work in HR, Carrot? I suspect not.