What is Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and leave?

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Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay were introduced specifically to give employed parents a guaranteed minimum period away from work following the death of a child, recognising this as a distinct and particularly difficult form of bereavement. **Who qualifies for the leave** Parental Bereavement Leave is available to employees who lose a child under the age of 18, or who experience a stillbirth after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy -- unlike many other family leave entitlements, the RIGHT TO LEAVE itself is a 'day one' right, meaning there is no minimum length of service required to take the two weeks of leave, though eligibility for the PAY element does have separate qualifying conditions. **How much leave is available** Eligible parents can take up to two weeks of Parental Bereavement Leave, which can be taken as a single continuous two-week block, or as two separate one-week blocks, and can generally be taken at any point within a set window following the child's death (rather than needing to be taken immediately) -- this flexibility recognises that grieving parents may need time away from work at different points, not necessarily right away. **Qualifying for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay** Unlike the leave itself, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP) requires the employee to meet minimum service (typically a set number of weeks' continuous employment with their employer by the relevant date) and minimum earnings conditions, similar in structure to other statutory family pay entitlements -- employees who do not meet these conditions can still take the two weeks of unpaid leave (since the leave right itself has no service requirement), but would not receive SPBP for that period. **The statutory pay rate** SPBP is paid at the same standard statutory weekly rate used for other family-related statutory payments (or 90% of average weekly earnings, if that figure is lower), for each of the up to two weeks taken -- employers can choose to enhance this with additional contractual bereavement pay above the statutory minimum, though many do not, so checking your specific employment contract for any enhanced provision is worthwhile. **Worked example** An employee who has worked for their employer for over a year, meeting the minimum service and earnings conditions, loses their 10-year-old child. They take one week of Parental Bereavement Leave immediately, and use the second week several weeks later once they return to work and need further time away. For both weeks, they qualify for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay at the standard statutory rate, in addition to having a day-one right to take the leave itself. **Both parents can claim independently** Where a child has two parents (or two people with parental responsibility) both in qualifying employment, each parent can independently take their own two weeks of Parental Bereavement Leave, and separately claim SPBP if they individually meet the qualifying conditions -- the entitlement is not shared or split between them as a single combined pot. **Practical tip** Check both your employer's own enhanced bereavement policy (many go beyond the statutory minimum) and your specific SPBP eligibility based on your length of service, since the two-week LEAVE right applies from day one regardless of service length, but the PAY entitlement does have separate qualifying conditions that not everyone will automatically meet.

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