The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations, otherwise known as “Jack’s Law” in memory of Jack Herd whose mother Lucy campaigned on the issue, will come into force on 6 April this year.
Working parents who suffer the loss of a child under the age of 18 will be entitled to two weeks’ statutory leave. Leave can be taken in one continuous block; or two blocks of one week. The same right to time off applies to parents who suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. Importantly, the right to time off applies to day one of employment – there is no qualifying service criteria.
Unlike the right to time off, there is a qualifying period for statutory pay, although employers may of course decide to reduce or remove the qualifying tenure. Parents with at least 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer and weekly average earnings over the lower earning limit (£118 per week for 2019 to 2020) will also be entitled to Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, paid at the statutory rate of £148.68 per week (for 2019 to 2020), or 90% of average weekly earnings where this is lower. Employers may also decide to pay in excess of the statutory pay requirements.