Nine in ten British managers (90 percent) have said that paid bereavement leave should be a legal entitlement for all employees, a survey has revealed.
The research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), comes as the government tabled an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill to extend statutory bereavement leave to include early pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
Changes to bereavement leave have been under discussion since the start of the year, with the Women and Equalities Committee stating that the case for introducing miscarriage bereavement leave is “overwhelming”.
The CMI survey highlights a groundswell of support for this amendment as the poll found 61 percent of British managers strongly agree that there should be paid bereavement leave following a miscarriage or pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Only 3 percent of respondents disagreed.
Separately, the CMI survey found that the majority of managers (95 percent) believe there should be at least one day of paid general bereavement leave for all employees. When asked how many days of paid leave they felt would be appropriate, 45 percent said it should range from one to ten working days.
The survey also found interesting trends based on gender, ethnicity, and management level when it comes to paid general bereavement leave.
Women were more likely than men to agree with the proposal, with 95 percent of female managers supporting paid bereavement leave, compared to 87 percent of male managers. Junior and middle managers were more likely than senior managers, directors, and owners to agree that paid bereavement leave should be a legal entitlement.
The government’s bill proposes to expand the current scope of bereavement leave to include more than just parents grieving the loss of stillborn babies or children. Under the proposals, employees will be entitled to at least one week of leave following the loss of other loved ones and dependents. However, the detailed eligibility criteria for this leave will be determined through future regulations.
CMI said it was notable that the bill does not include any changes to social security regulations, meaning it does not provide for statutory pay alongside this expanded bereavement leave.
Petra Wilton, director of policy at CMI, said: “Managers have a crucial role in supporting individual members of their team during times of personal hardship, and it’s clear from this survey that the vast majority of leaders believe paid bereavement leave should be a legal entitlement for all employees.
“It is not just a matter of compassion, but also of workplace productivity and wellbeing. Providing paid leave allows employees to grieve and heal without the added stress of financial instability, ensuring they can return to work with the focus and support they need. The results of this survey should send a strong signal to policymakers to prioritise bereavement leave in their legislative agenda.”
Alison Penny, National Bereavement Alliance coordinator, said: “We’ve been campaigning on bereavement leave for many years, and it’s really helpful to us to have this up-to-date data on managers’ views. We’ve been able to build this into our briefings to the Public Bill Committee for the Employment Rights Bill, and to the Business and Trade Select Committee inquiry. This really helps to strengthen our case, and hopefully strengthen support for employees at such a vulnerable time.”
