The Employer’s Guide to Setting up a Bereavement Leave Policy

Deskera Content Team -

Over 88% of US companies offer bereavement leave policies to their employees every year for approximately three consecutive days. Businesses are fast adopting this policy and are reaping its immediate benefits. Acknowledging the grief that a person goes through, by providing work relief and additional benefits, 90% of employees feel safer and more connected to their workplaces.

Considering that a disruption in the workflow will occur when an employee requests a bereavement leave, it is only feasible that you already have a pre-planned and intricate policy following the bereavement leave laws in place.

This policy will save your business precious work time and give your grieving employees a predetermined procedure to go about the leave.

The sections below acquaint you with the following facets of bereavement leave laws:

Bereavement Leave Laws - An Introduction

Bereavement leave laws or compassionate leave refers to the time taken off from daily work by an employee to grieve the death of an immediate family member or the immediate family of an immediate family member. It is usually paid, but for a short period of about three days.

There is NO SPECIFIC BEREAVEMENT LEAVE LAW in the US that deals with this. However, subsidiary laws do allow for some relief in the bereavement leave laws. For example, in the absence of any bereavement leave laws in the US, the US Family Medical Leave Act allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave concerning family matters.

About bereavement leave laws, another provision under the US Fair Labor Standards Act, prescribes no specific bereavement leave law (policy). However, it also mentions that in matters of bereavement leave laws, it is up to the employer-employee negotiations on how a company should go about a bereavement leave law (policy).

Exceptions

  • Washington State

The state dictates all employers grant bereavement leave laws under the standard paid sick leaves guided by the state.

  • Oregon

Employees qualify under bereavement leave laws in Oregon if they have worked at least 180 calendar days with 25 hours per week. The company should provide two weeks of leave to them, and the bereavement leave law should start within 60 days of knowledge about the demise. Only companies with 25 employees or more will be eligible. However, this notification does not consider paid leaves.

  • Illinois

The Illinois law provides a specific Child Bereavement Leave Law which provides employers with 50 or more employees to get unpaid leave of 10 consecutive days.

The importance of incorporating a bereavement leave law in your business is a benefactor to extracting employee trust and loyalty. The grieving process is a susceptible time, and having a set direction to ask for leave from work reassures the employee that you understand what they are going through. This will produce a more vital employer-employee nexus and contribute to unprecedented growth in the long run.

It is up to you to incorporate a bereavement leave law in your employee’s handbook and how you should go about it. However, it is imperative to make sure that the terms and conditions of your company’s policy are curated, considering the specific state laws and limitations within it are enveloped.

An Ideal Bereavement Leave Law: What to Incorporate?

The leave management policy reflects the effectiveness of employees working in a company. This includes a thoroughly specific bereavement leave law chalked out in the standard employee handbook.

As mentioned earlier, the bereavement leave law (policy) of a company should incorporate leave on the instance of the death of an immediate family member, a close family member, and the demise of a fellow employee or company person. Ideally, a bereavement leave law should include paid leave for two to three days depending on business capacity to have such a plan.

A clear-cut pointwise laid out policy will act as a blueprint for employees to go about the process in a seamless fashion and not waste any time with elaborate formalities. So here are a few essential points to add to your bereavement leave law in your company’s handbook.

Conditions under Bereavement Leave Law (Policy)

  • An employee must inform its employer of their wish to take a bereavement leave as soon as possible. If they are already on leave and inform their employer later, the day will not be considered a leave day
  • An employee can appeal to their company to cut off any other holidays and incorporate them within their bereavement leave law period for some extra time
  • Employees with pre-existing work attendance issues should provide documentation to the company before asking for leave
  • During the employee’s absence, the pay rate is calculated as the bereavement leave law period, and no incentives, commissions, bonuses, overtime, or shift differentials are involved

Guidelines of Paid Bereavement Leave Law (Policy)

  • In the instance of a death of a fellow employee, the bereavement leave law of a company dictates that an employee can take up to 4 hours of leave, only on the condition that it does not disrupt the regular workflow
  • A bereavement leave law of a company allows for four consecutive days of leave with pay to employees
  • Employees also exercise a day of paid bereavement leave law from regularly scheduled work

4 Days Consecutive Paid Leave (for the demise of the Employee’s relative)-

  • Spouse
  • Domestic partner
  • Child
  • Stepchild
  • Parent
  • Stepparent
  • Brother
  • Sister
  • Stepbrother
  • Stepsister
  • Father-in-law
  • Mother-in-law
  • Son-in-law
  • Daughter-in-law

1 Day Paid Leave (for the demise of the Employee’s relative)-

  • Brother-in-law
  • Sister-in-law
  • Aunt
  • Uncle
  • Grandparent
  • Grandchild
  • Spouse’s grandparent

What Should a Bereavement Leave Law (Policy) of a Company Address?

Here are a few pointers on what you can include as an employer in your employee handbook within the section of bereavement leave law (policies) :

  • The qualification of the employee to be eligible for this leave, along with what the leave is
  • The number of days included in the bereavement leave law. It should also include whether the employees can take non-consecutive day leaves
  • The specification of the amount of payment during the leave. If it is unpaid, do not forget to mention that
  • Incorporation of special leave for shift workers, specification on the payment, which includes the extra cost to be made on completing a work shift during the leave
  • A specification on seeking the leave notification
  • A guideline on time-tracking and approaching the employer for the leave
  • Should contain the details of extended leave and extra benefit if granted

Unless definitive state laws in your area bind you, you can take complete freedom to express what your company considers an immediate family before you chalk out the bereavement leave law (policy) for your employees.

Resources to Provide to Employees on Bereavement Leave Law(Policy)

Your employee bereavement leave law will earn extra brownie points when you incorporate additional resources for your employees during or after their leave term expires. Here are a few things you can do to ensure that your employees get enough time with the grieving process and the workflow does not get hindered.

  • Flexible Work Hours: Assigning your employee with tasks that they can do on a flexible basis after their leave for a few weeks
  • Provision for Remote Work: On the expiration of the bereavement leave law, you can allow your employee to conduct remote work for a few weeks before they get back to a stable mental condition. Your employee will genuinely appreciate this effort
  • EAPs: Extra supportive services like grief counseling offered by the company can help employees take care of their mental health

FAQs About Bereavement Leave Law (Policy) of a Company

1. What should be included in a bereavement policy?

A company’s bereavement leave law (policy) should clearly state the eligibility. It should also contain a blueprint on who constitutes an immediate family and how an employee can acquire the leave.

Additionally, details on whether the leave is paid or unpaid, whether extra work shifts will include more payments on top of the leave, and the exact no. of days the leave is granted to the employee.

A bereavement leave law (policy) should be specific to each company with regard to their capacity and the current rate of growth.

2. How many days leave can you get when the death of a family member occurs?

Under the bereavement leave law (policy), there is no hard and fast rule on the number of days an employee can get leave on an instance of the death of an immediate family member, but the standard norm is 2-5 days. Whether these days can be consecutive, non-consecutive, paid, or unpaid entirely depends upon the company’s current position and ability. However, all such details need to be mentioned in the employee handbook.

3. Who is included in the immediate family for bereavement leave?

The bereavement leave law (policy) does not contain definitive guidelines on who the employee’s immediate family needs to be to qualify under this leave. Therefore, unless you are bound by specific state laws under whose jurisdiction your company operates, employers are free to chalk out their thoughts on who the ‘immediate family’ should constitute for the employee. However, a standard observation would include the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, legal guardian, son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents, aunt, uncle, niece and nephew, and in-laws.

4. What additional resources can you provide your employees during or after their leave?

Flexible Work Hours: Assigning your employee with tasks that they can do on a flexible basis after their leave for a few weeks.

Provision for Remote Work: On the expiration of the bereavement leave law, you can allow your employee to conduct remote work for a few weeks before they get back to a stable mental condition. Your employee will genuinely appreciate this effort.

EAPs: Extra supportive services like grief counseling offered by the company can help employees take care of their mental health.

Conclusion

A bereavement leave law (policy) is beneficial to gain employees’ trust and ensure their prolonged services and attentiveness to the company’s motives and aims. With the guidelines mentioned above, you as an employer can dodge any losses that may take place due to disrupted workflow and prolonged absence.

How Deskera Can Assist You?

As a business, you must be diligent with employee payroll system. Deskera People allows you to conveniently manage payroll, leave, attendance, and other expenses. Generating payslips for your employees is now easy as the platform also digitizes and automates HR processes.

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Key Takeaways

  • Bereavement leave laws or compassionate leave refers to the time taken off from daily work by an employee to grieve the death of an immediate family member or the immediate family of an immediate family member
  • In the absence of any bereavement leave laws in the US, the US Family Medical Leave Act allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave concerning family matters
  • During the employee’s absence, the pay rate is calculated as the bereavement leave law period, and no incentives, commissions, bonuses, overtime, or shift differentials are involved
  • A company’s bereavement leave law (policy) should clearly state the eligibility. It should also contain a blueprint on who constitutes an immediate family and how an employee can acquire the leave
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References

  1. https://builtin.com/people-management/bereavement-leave
  2. https://www.deskera.com/blog/what-is-leave-management/
  3. https://www.recruiter.com/bereavement-leave.html#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States%2C%20while,leave%20for%20family%2Drelated%20matters.
  4. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/policies/pages/bereavement-policy.aspx
  5. https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/funeral-leave#.UNk9hZjHiSo