Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay 2026/27: Jack's Law Explained

What Is Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay?

Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay, widely known as Jack's Law after the campaign that led to its introduction, gives employed parents a legal right to time away from work if their child dies, or if they experience a stillbirth after the 24th week of pregnancy. It applies where a child under 18 dies on or after 6 April 2020.

The right is split into two parts. The leave itself — two weeks away from work — is available to almost every employee from their first day in a job, regardless of how long they have worked there. The pay that goes alongside it, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP), has its own separate qualifying conditions, similar to other forms of family-related statutory pay such as maternity or paternity pay. It is entirely possible to qualify for the leave without qualifying for the pay, so it is worth understanding both parts separately.

Who Qualifies

"Parent" is defined broadly for this entitlement, in recognition of the many different ways a child may be cared for. It covers:

• Biological parents of the child
• Adoptive parents
• Parents of a child born through surrogacy
• People who have had the child living with them in a parental capacity for at least four weeks before the child's death, which can include some kinship carers and foster parents in certain circumstances

The entitlement applies UK-wide, covering England, Scotland, and Wales under the same legislation, with Northern Ireland providing separate but broadly similar protection under its own law.

Leave Entitlement

Eligible parents can take two weeks of Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave. This can be taken flexibly: either as one continuous block of two weeks, or split into two separate blocks of one week each, used at different times if that suits the family better.

The leave can be taken at any point within 56 weeks — just over a year — from the date of the child's death, giving parents time to decide when they need it most, rather than forcing the leave to be used immediately.

Crucially, the right to take this leave does not depend on how long you have worked for your employer. It is a day-one employment right, meaning even someone who started a new job the week their child died is entitled to take the time off. Formal notice requirements are deliberately light: you are generally expected to tell your employer the dates as soon as reasonably practicable, reflecting the sudden and traumatic nature of the circumstances.

Pay Entitlement and Rate

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is not automatic simply because you qualify for the leave. To receive it, you must meet two separate conditions by the relevant qualifying week:

• At least 26 weeks of continuous employment with your employer, and
• Average weekly earnings of at least the Lower Earnings Limit, which is £129 a week in 2026/27

These are the same style of qualifying conditions used for other statutory family pay, such as Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay.

For 2026/27, the flat weekly rate of Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is £194.32, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that figure works out lower — the same rate structure used for Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, and Statutory Neonatal Care Pay. This rate is usually reviewed and uprated each April, so always check the current figure for the tax year in which the leave is taken.

Because each parent claims independently from their own employer, this is not a shared entitlement in the way Shared Parental Leave is. If both parents each separately meet the 26-week service and earnings conditions, each can receive their own full two weeks of pay — it is not split or reduced because another parent is also claiming.

Worked Example

Priya has worked for her employer for three years and earns £520 a week on average. Her son, aged 9, dies unexpectedly. Priya meets both qualifying conditions for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay — she has well over 26 weeks' service and earns comfortably above the Lower Earnings Limit — so she receives £194.32 a week, since 90% of her earnings (£468) is higher than the flat rate, and the lower of the two figures is paid.

Priya takes her two weeks as a single block shortly after the funeral, but knows she can take further statutory leave in a second one-week block later in the year if she needs it, as long as it falls within 56 weeks of her son's death.

Her partner, Tom, works for a different employer but only started that job eight weeks earlier. Tom is still entitled to take his two weeks of Parental Bereavement Leave straight away, as this is a day-one right — but because he has not yet completed 26 weeks with his employer, he does not qualify for the statutory pay. His employer may choose to pay him anyway, but is not legally required to.

Common Pitfalls

• Assuming the leave and the pay have the same qualifying conditions. The two weeks of leave are a day-one right for almost everyone, but the pay requires 26 weeks' service and minimum earnings — you can be entitled to one without the other.
• Thinking the entitlement is shared between parents. Unlike Shared Parental Leave, each parent can claim their own full two weeks independently from their own employer, provided they each meet the conditions separately.
• Missing the 56-week window. The leave and pay must be used within 56 weeks of the child's death; leaving it later than that means the entitlement is lost, so it is worth keeping track of the date even if the leave is not needed straight away.
• Not realising a wider range of carers can qualify. Some kinship carers and foster parents who had the child living with them in a parental capacity for at least four weeks before the death may also be entitled, even without a formal legal parental relationship.