The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill has received Royal Assent, becoming the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018. The Act gives all employed parents a statutory right to two weeks’ parental bereavement leave following the death of a child
under the age of 18, or if they suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. All employed parents who meet the eligibility conditions will be entitled to this leave, regardless of how long they have worked for their employer, i.e. it is a day one statutory
right. Employed parents will also be able to claim statutory parental bereavement pay for this two-week period, if they meet the eligibility criteria, which will be similar to the eligibility criteria for statutory paternity pay (SPP) and includes a requirement
that they have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer by the end of the week before the week of the child’s death. It is expected that statutory parental bereavement pay will be paid at the same statutory flat rate as SPP (currently £145.18
per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower).

Finally, parents taking parental bereavement leave will have the same employment protections as those associated with other forms of family-related leave. This includes retaining their existing terms and conditions of employment during parental bereavement
leave (except for pay) and protection from detriment or dismissal as a result of having taken leave.

The Act was originally introduced as a Private Members’ Bill, but it had the full support of the government. It is expected that the new rights will come into force in England, Wales and Scotland in 2020, once regulations have been made setting out the detail
of how parental bereavement leave will be taken and what statutory parental bereavement pay is payable. Such regulations will include a provision that the leave must be taken within 56 days of the child’s death.

Source: New feed