What is Bereavement Leave?

Bereavement leave is a type of paid time-off granted to the employee to grieve the death of a loved one. Bereavement leave may be used for the employee’s immediate or non-immediate family members. This time is given to allow for the administration of the funeral and other related arrangements. This leave is different from other types of leave because it is not deducted from the employee’s sick and vacation leave.

Why do you need a Bereavement Leave Policy?

This particular leave is essential for any company to ensure the mental health and productivity of employees while they manage a loss in their family. This policy outlines the terms of the policy and gives both the employer and employee knowledge of the expectations associated with bereavement leave within the company. The average duration of bereavement leave is 3-5 days.

How long is Bereavement Leave?

Bereavement leave duration solely depends on the employer’s discretion, offer, and consideration. There are cases where employers have limited days for bereavement leave, such as 3 to 5 business days. However, some employers let their employees take their time until they’re ready to report back to work, as long as it will not exceed ten (10) business days.

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Bereavement Leave Policy Sample

Policy Number:

(insert policy number)

Executive-in-Charge:

[Executive.FirstName][Executive.LastName]

Office-in-Charge:

[Sender.FirstName][Sender.LastName]

Policy Approval Date:

(day – month – year)

Policy Approval Code:

(insert document reference number)

Policy Effective Date:

(day – month – year)

To be implemented by:

ALL BONAFIDE EMPLOYEES UNDER [Sender.Company]

BACKGROUND

[Sender.Company] acknowledges and recognizes the importance of family and the difficulties our employees face in the phase of losing a loved one – the time for grief, administering funerals, and final file arrangements. Lastly, we understand that the employee will not be in the right headspace to deal with work and will need sufficient rest as he/she is physically, mentally, and emotionally vulnerable and drained.

For this reason and our employee’s overall well-being, our Company grants all our employees a paid leave for bereavement.

PURPOSE

This Policy was written and approved to serve as the uniform practice or official guideline for the administration and implementation of Bereavement leave for employees of [Sender.Company].

DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Bereavement Leave

The type of leave is granted to the employee to grieve for a death of a loved one (may it be the employee’s immediate or non-immediate family members as defined in the sections of this Policy), administration of the funeral, and other related arrangements.

2. Immediate Family Members

1. Parents – the employee’s mother and father

2. Spouse – the employee’s legally married husband or wife

3. Child/ren – the biological, legitimate/dependent, or adopted child under the employee's legal guardianship, legal custody, or foster care.

4. Siblings – the employee’s brother/s or sister/s, regardless of the birth order.

3. Non-Immediate Family Members

Refers to the relatives of the employee outside the “Immediate Family Members” list as defined below:

1. Grandparent/s

2. Grandchild/ren

3. Cousin/s

4. Uncle/s

5. Aunt/s

6. Niece/s

7. Nephew/s

8. Parents-in-law

9. Civil or Cohabiting Partner/s

SCOPE

This Policy applies to all bonafide employees of the (Company Name) as specified below:

1. Regular Employees

Refers to the full-time employees whose employment is expected to continue until retirement, termination, or resignation. These types of employees are regularly scheduled to work.

2 .Contractual Employees

Refers to the employee hired in a position for a specific period of time whose assignments, duties, and responsibilities are stated in the written contract.

3. Project-based Employees

Refers to the employees hired either full-time or part-time to work with a team to perform duties directly related to the defined planning of the project and the program of work. There is also a specified period of employment to cover the project's timeframe from commencement to completion.

The period of employment varies as it depends on the project's progress, which could be extended or terminated once the contract has expired.

4. Temporary Employees

Refers to the employees considered as a reliever hired to perform task-based contracts (for example, bulk encoder and the other routinary tasks).

5. Consultant

A person hired to provide expert advice concerning the company's concerns. Usually paid on an hourly rate basis.

ENTITLEMENT

As mentioned in the above-stated coverage (see IV. Scope) of this Policy, employees are entitled to the following upon availing of the bereavement leave:

1. Following the death of an “immediate family member,” as defined in SectionIII. Definition of Terms, the employee may take up to five (5) days leave with pay and can be extended up to another five (5) days leave without pay.

2. Following the death of a “non-immediate family member,” as defined in Section III. Definition of Terms, the employee may take up to three (3) days leave with pay and can be extended up to another two (2) days without pay.

3. The extension may be used as additional time off should the funeral arrangements be made out-of-town that require additional days to travel from one place to another.

4. The extension may also be used as additional time off should the employee need to attend any legal responsibilities or proceedings, such as settling the estate of the deceased immediate family member.

EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The following employee responsibilities stated below are acknowledged and apply to this Policy:

1. The employee’s immediate superior should be notified of the loss within three (3) business days for the team to arrange and delegate the employee’s tasks and assignments during the Bereavement leave.

2. Bereavement leave should be filed within seven (7) business days following the funeral unless otherwise approved by the immediate superior.

3. The employee is required to submit his/her Bereavement Leave form acknowledged by the immediate superior for proper documentation and necessary adjustments.

4. The employee should update his/her immediate superior as necessary to monitor their overall well-being. If necessary, a support system or therapy will be assigned to the grieving employee.

5. The employee shall inform his/her immediate superior a day or two before his/her reporting back to the office once the bereavement leave has concluded.

6. The employee is expected to submit all the requirements specified in Section VIII. Requirements.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

The following management responsibilities stated below are acknowledged and apply to this Policy:

1. The immediate superior is responsible for approving the bereavement leave request by the employee.

2. It is also the immediate superior’s responsibility that the approved leave is coded correctly in all employee’s attendance report monitoring databases to maintain accurate records for bereavement leave for each accounting leave cycle.

3. The immediate superior should be able to discern how to properly approach the grieving employee to be informed if there’s any assistance the Company may provide on top of the entitlement given to the staff.

4. The immediate superior should ensure that this type of leave is utilized correctly. Should any abuses be made by the employee to this particular type of leave, he/she may be subject to disciplinary action or termination of the contract.

REQUIREMENTS AND ASSISTANCE

The employee is expected to submit the requirements listed below to receive the assistance that the Company provides:

1. Death Certificate – that will serve as an attachment to the bereavement leave for proper documentation purposes.

2. Hospital Statement of Account – for hospital bills assistance purposes.

3. Details of Memorial Service – for shuttle services arrangement purposes.

Signature