Maternity leave, paternity leave and more recently – paw-ternity leave – have been debated and evolved across Europe over the last few decades. But when it comes to bereavement or compassionate leave, the policies and entitlement for workers vary significantly between countries, according to a new study.
Research* analysed bereavement leave policies across Europe to see how the UK fares across the continent for its support for employees who need time off work due to the death of a loved one.
The research found that bereavement leave can vary from 0 – 7 days leave, with disparities across paid leave, and more than seven days for loss of a child. In most countries, it is dependent on the relationship to the person who has died as to how many days an employee is entitled to.
“Grief is something we all will experience at some point in our life. So when we are in this situation and need bereavement leave from our workplace to help plan a funeral, travel to or go to one, or for time off when coping with grief, we need to know our rights clearly,” explains Alix Baldwin, director of Funeral Choice.
Scoring European Countries for Bereavement Leave
Countries with the longest bereavement leave
The average number of bereavement days – from the 40 countries in the study – is 2.8 days. Countries from the study that offered the longest bereavement leave entitlement are Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia and Ukraine, who all offer employees seven days. All four countries stipulated that this bereavement leave was in the instance of a death of a close family member. Croatia notably offers an extensive list of definitions for immediate family, which included adoptive family members, stepfamily, and spouses of blood relatives.
The next best offering is five days of bereavement leave, which is the statutory entitlement in Cyprus, France, Portugal, Russia, Lithuania and Serbia.
Countries with interesting and unique bereavement leave additions
France recently updated its bereavement leave laws – known in this country as funeral leave – to increase to 14 days for the death of a child under 25. Portugal also increases its standard laws in this instance up to 20 days for the death of a child.
Slovakia interestingly allows an extra day of bereavement leave if you are planning the funeral. Something Alix says would be good for the UK to follow: “Planning a funeral is not something that happens in one go or one day, it is usually fragmented. But allowing and recognising extra time for the planning process – like Slovakia does – would be a huge step for the UK to follow in the future. It allows the person time to think about what they really want for their loved one’s funeral and gives them the space to think about this practical side of bereavement, alongside coping with the emotional side.”
Spain’s laws too allow for more flexibility of four extra days if far travel to the funeral is necessary, which acknowledges increasingly dispersed family and friends globally..
Countries with vague bereavement leave laws
The UK, along with six other countries (Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Malta, Luxembourg and Czech Republic), does state that employers are required by law to offer bereavement leave. But there is no definition or law on whether these days are paid, or for a fixed or required length. This means it is very much at the employer’s discretion or dependent on the company handbook rules.
Countries with the most room for improvement on bereavement leave
Nine countries within the study did not have bereavement leave or an equivalent specified by law at all. This means that although it is likely offered at discretion by employers in these countries, the employees had no right to time off for a funeral or at a time of a family member’s death. These were: Ireland, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Denmark, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iceland.
Alix Baldwin, director of Funeral Choice, comments: “What’s been interesting in this study is how some countries offer definitions to clarify what situations compassionate or bereavement leave can be used for. We have a lot we can take from that in the UK where it is still quite vague and at employers’ discretion. However, given that we can all experience grief differently, it is hard to define these parameters in a one-size-fits-all approach. Different employees will have different needs for different situations. In an ideal world, it would be great to see a law that requires employers to give a certain number of paid days, so that when someone finds themself planning a funeral, they know their rights and do not have extra pressure and uncertainties of work commitments at an already hard time.”
Kyle Bolt, founder of CrewHR encourages open conversations with employers and employees to improve policies and company handbooks:
“As a manager or HR professional, how you respond to an employee who informs you of a death in the family can be a crucial moment in your employee’s career journey. Often companies simply get it wrong. Having a robust and thoughtful bereavement policy is not only important for attracting talent, but more importantly for the health and wellbeing of your workforce. Allowing adequate time for employees to grieve and heal after a loss is crucial for their long-term success and mental well-being.
“In the UK there are some laws and regulations governing bereavement leave, however, the majority of bereavement leave benefits are left up to the discretion of the employer. While an important policy to put in place nationally, there is more that employers in the UK can do. Employees should approach bereavement conversations openly and honestly. If there is a need for additional leave beyond what the employer offers, it’s important to have that conversation upfront.”
*Research by Funeral Choice
