Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay

Please note: If an employee’s child has died or was stillborn before 6 April 2026, you should follow the legislative guidance for Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay - claims before 6 April 2026.

An employee must give notice for Parental Bereavement Leave as well as evidence of eligibility for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay in cases of claims relating to child death, stillbirth, and miscarriage.

Parental Bereavement Leave

An employee has 56 weeks to take Parental Bereavement Leave. This starts from the date of the child’s death, or stillbirth, or the date that the woman who experienced the miscarriage became aware of it.

The 56 weeks are split into 2 periods:

• from the date of the death or stillbirth, or the date that the woman who experienced the miscarriage became aware of it, to 8 weeks after
• 9 to 56 weeks after the date of the death or stillbirth, or the date that the woman experienced the miscarriage, or became aware of it

They can take 2 weeks’ leave in one block or as 2 separate blocks of one week.

You must get notice from the employee before they take Parental Bereavement Leave. How much notice depends on when they’re taking leave.

0 to 8 weeks after the child’s death or stillbirth, or the date that the woman who experienced the miscarriage became aware of it

An employee must give you notice before the time they would normally start work on the first day of the time period they want to take off work.

9 to 56 weeks after the child’s death or stillbirth

An employee must give you at least one week’s notice before the start of the week or weeks they want to take off work.

How employees should give you notice

They should tell you:

• the date of the child’s death or stillbirth, or
• the date that the woman who experienced the miscarriage became aware of it, and
• when they want their Parental Bereavement Leave to begin
• how much leave they are taking - either 1 or 2 weeks

An employee can give you notice informally, for example, by phone, text message, or email. You cannot ask for:

• notice for leave in writing (such as following up with an email, letter, or form)
• notice to cancel leave in writing
• evidence of entitlement for leave
• details about the employee’s relationship to the child or baby, or in the case of a miscarriage, the details about the employee’s relationship with the woman who experienced the miscarriage

Cancelling Parental Bereavement Leave

An employee can cancel their Parental Bereavement Leave if they’ve given you the required notice for taking leave.

If they were starting the leave within 8 weeks of the death or stillbirth, or the date that the woman who experienced the miscarriage became aware of it, they must let you know about the cancellation no later than the time they would normally start work on the first day of the planned leave.

If they were starting the leave 9 weeks or later after the death or stillbirth, or the date that the woman who experienced the miscarriage became aware of it, they must let you know no later than one week before the start of the planned leave.

They can rebook another week’s leave if they cancel before the leave was due to start, and they give you the correct notice.

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

An employee must ask for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay within 28 days, starting with the first day of the week they want to claim pay for, or as soon as is reasonably practicable if it is in the first 8 weeks of entitlement.

They must give you in writing (for example, a letter or email) each time:

• the dates of the period they want to claim Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay
• their name
• the date of the child’s death, stillbirth, or the date that the woman who experienced the miscarriage became aware of it

The employee will also need to give you a self-declaration to confirm they are eligible because of their relationship to the child or baby, or in the cases of a miscarriage, that they are claiming under the grounds of miscarriage (this includes those who experienced the miscarriage as well as those who were connected to the pregnancy or have satisfied the relationship criteria with a woman who has experienced a miscarriage - they only need to provide this once when they first ask for pay.

Cancelling Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

An employee can cancel their Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay if they’ve given you the required notice for claiming pay.

If their pay was due to start within 8 weeks of the child’s death or stillbirth, or the date that the woman who experienced the miscarriage became aware of it, they must give you notice on the first day of the week of pay they want to cancel.

If their pay was due to start 9 weeks or later after the child’s death or stillbirth, or the date that the woman who experienced the miscarriage became aware of it, they must tell you they want to cancel one week before their pay was due to start.