From April 2027, employees in Great Britain will gain a new day-one statutory right to unpaid bereavement leave following the death of certain close family members or a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. The Government confirmed the final policy details on 22 September 2026 following consultation on how the new entitlement should operate.
In Brief
From April 2027, employees in Great Britain will have a new day-one statutory right to unpaid bereavement leave following the death of certain close family members or a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Eligible employees will be able to take up to two weeks’ leave flexibly over a 56-week period, with no requirement to provide evidence of the loss.
Key Points
- Bereavement leave will become a day-one employment right from April 2027, with eligible employees entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave.
- The right will cover specified close family relationships, including spouses, civil partners, long-term partners, parents, adult children and siblings, as well as step, half and adoptive relationships. Equivalent parental relationships involving foster and kinship care will also qualify.
- Bereavement leave will also extend to pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, including miscarriage, ectopic and molar pregnancy, termination and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfer.
- Employees will have 56 weeks in which to take the leave and will be able to use their entitlement in individual days rather than having to take it as one continuous period.
- No documentary evidence of the bereavement or pregnancy loss will be required, and lighter notification requirements will apply during the first eight weeks following the loss.
- Employers should review bereavement, compassionate-leave and pregnancy-loss policies before April 2027, train managers on the new rules and ensure the statutory entitlement works alongside any more generous existing benefits.
The reforms, introduced through the Employment Rights Act 2025 and to be brought into force by secondary legislation, significantly widen the current statutory framework. At present, specific statutory bereavement leave is largely confined to Parental Bereavement Leave following the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks.
Who Will Qualify for Bereavement Leave?
Employees will qualify from the first day of employment following the death of an immediate family member. The Government has confirmed that this will include a spouse or civil partner, a partner in a committed long-term relationship (whether cohabiting or non-cohabiting), parents, adult children and siblings, including relevant biological, adopted, step and half relationships. Equivalent parental relationships will also be covered where an employee was raised through kinship care or by foster carers.
The statutory scheme will not extend to every relationship. Grandparents, grandchildren, wider relatives, close friends and “chosen family” were considered during consultation but are not included in the final qualifying group. The Government has instead encouraged employers to go beyond the statutory minimum where appropriate.
Eligible employees will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave, calculated according to their usual working pattern. Someone working five days a week could therefore take up to ten working days, while an employee working two days a week could take up to four.
Employers will remain free to offer more generous contractual or discretionary arrangements, including paid compassionate leave or longer periods away from work.
Bereavement Leave Following Pregnancy Loss
A major part of the reform is the extension of bereavement leave to pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
The entitlement will cover the person who was pregnant, their spouse or civil partner, the other biological parent, a partner in a committed long-term relationship, an intended co-parent and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
All types of pregnancy loss within the statutory definition will be covered. This includes miscarriage before 24 weeks, including ectopic, molar and chemical pregnancies; terminations; and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers. IVF embryo loss before transfer and other forms of failed fertility treatment fall outside the scope of the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Those eligible following pregnancy loss will also be able to take up to two weeks of unpaid leave.
Existing Parental Bereavement Leave will continue to apply where a child under 18 dies or there is a stillbirth after 24 weeks. That separate scheme provides two weeks of leave and, where the statutory eligibility requirements are met, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay.
When Can Bereavement Leave Be Taken?
The new entitlement will be unusually flexible.
Employees will have 56 weeks in which to use their entitlement, running from the death or pregnancy loss, or from the date on which they learn of it where that is later. Leave will not have to be taken in a continuous block. Instead, employees will be able to take bereavement leave in individual days. This could allow someone to take time immediately after a death, retain days for a funeral and use further leave for an anniversary, birthday or expected due date later in the 56-week period.
For employers, that means HR systems and policies will need to accommodate single days of statutory leave rather than assuming that all bereavement absence will be taken consecutively.
Interestingly, eight weeks was the most popular option in the consultation, chosen by 41% of respondents, while 56 weeks attracted lower overall support. The Government nevertheless chose the longer period because it offers greater flexibility, allows leave to be taken around significant dates such as anniversaries or expected due dates, and aligns the new entitlement with existing Parental Bereavement Leave.
Notice and Evidence Requirements
The Government has chosen relatively light-touch notification rules.
Where bereavement leave is taken during the first eight weeks following the loss, the employee must notify the employer before they would normally start work that day, or as soon as reasonably practicable afterwards. For leave taken after the first eight weeks, one week’s notice will be required.
Any form of notice will be acceptable. Employees will not be required to provide evidence of the bereavement or pregnancy loss in order to take leave.
The absence of an evidence requirement is particularly important in cases of early pregnancy loss, where formal medical evidence may not exist and disclosure could raise significant privacy concerns.
Protection from Detriment and Dismissal
Bereavement leave will be a protected statutory entitlement rather than simply a request for compassionate leave at an employer’s discretion.
Employees who take bereavement leave will be protected from dismissal or other detrimental treatment because they have exercised that right. The Employment Rights Act 2025 also provides for regulations to protect their contractual rights while they are on leave and to ensure they can return to work afterwards.
Employers will still be able to provide more generous support, but they will not be able to withhold the statutory minimum because a manager considers the timing inconvenient.
Strong Support for the New Right
The consultation received more than 1,900 responses and showed substantial support for widening statutory protection.
Eighty-one per cent of employer respondents and 91% of business representative organisations supported including immediate family members within the qualifying relationships. Ninety-three per cent of all respondents opposed restricting pregnancy-loss leave solely to the person who had been pregnant, while 92% supported covering all forms of pregnancy loss listed in the consultation.
Two weeks was the most popular duration overall, and the Government has chosen the same maximum entitlement for qualifying family bereavements and pregnancy loss.
Hugh’s Law
The Government is separately considering additional employment protection for parents of seriously ill children under proposals commonly referred to as Hugh’s Law.
That issue is not part of the April 2027 bereavement leave reforms. A separate consultation on employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children closed on 1 September 2026 and considered whether parents of seriously ill children should receive dedicated protected leave and pay.
The two proposals address different situations: the April 2027 reforms concern employees who have already experienced a qualifying death or pregnancy loss, whereas Hugh’s Law concerns support while a seriously ill child is alive and requires sustained parental care.
What Employers Should Do Before April 2027
Employers should review their bereavement, compassionate-leave and pregnancy-loss policies before the new rules take effect. Policies will need to explain who qualifies, the maximum two-week entitlement, the 56-week period in which leave can be taken and the ability to take leave in individual days. Notification procedures should also reflect the lighter requirements that apply during the first eight weeks following a loss.
Managers and HR teams will need appropriate training, particularly because employees cannot be required to provide documentary evidence of the bereavement or pregnancy loss. Employers should also consider how the new statutory entitlement will interact with any more generous contractual or discretionary arrangements already in place, including paid compassionate leave.
The Government intends to publish guidance alongside implementation. Employers should also ensure that bereavement leave is not treated as a substitute for sick leave where an employee is physically or mentally unwell following pregnancy loss. Statutory Sick Pay may still be available where the relevant conditions are met.
The aim should be to incorporate the new statutory right clearly and consistently without inadvertently reducing more favourable benefits already available to employees.
Bereavement Leave: A New Statutory Minimum
The April 2027 reforms represent a significant expansion of statutory support for bereaved employees.
For the first time, employees experiencing the death of a wider range of close family members or a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will have a day-one legal right to protected time away from work. The scheme will provide up to two weeks of unpaid leave, flexibility to take individual days during a 56-week period and minimal notice requirements immediately after a loss.
The reform does not replace more generous workplace policies. Instead, it establishes a statutory minimum which employers can choose to exceed.
For employers, preparation should focus on policy wording, HR systems, manager training and clear communication before the new bereavement leave rules take effect in April 2027.
Employers: What This Means
The new bereavement leave right will require employers in Great Britain to update policies, absence procedures and manager guidance before April 2027. The entitlement is designed to be flexible and light-touch, so employers will need systems that can accommodate individual days of leave, minimal notice in the immediate aftermath of a loss and no documentary evidence requirement.
- Review bereavement, compassionate-leave and pregnancy-loss policies to ensure they identify who qualifies, the two-week maximum entitlement and the 56-week period in which leave can be taken.
- Update absence and notification procedures so that employees can take individual days of bereavement leave and managers understand the lighter notice requirements that apply during the first eight weeks following a loss.
- Train HR teams and line managers on the new right, including the fact that employees cannot be required to provide documentary evidence of the bereavement or pregnancy loss.
- Check how the statutory right interacts with existing contractual or discretionary benefits, such as paid compassionate leave, so that more generous arrangements are not inadvertently reduced. Ensure that bereavement leave is not used as a substitute for sick leave where an employee is unwell following a pregnancy loss.
