ARTICLE
The importance of respecting grief in the workplace O
n Friday 9th April 2021, a wife lost her husband, a family lost their grandfather and great-grandfather respectively and, extending that even further, the country lost someone who was described as being “almost the grandfather of the nation”. The passing of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh came at a time when the country was already suffering from a period of medical and financial uncertainty. However, throughout it all, the sentiment that rang out was that his was a life spent in service. It therefore seems appropriate to reflect that, as an employer, your workers and employees are highly likely to encounter grief during their lives and that grief, whilst not necessarily impacting upon their work, requires proper and sensitive handling. Types of leave The first thought that comes to mind in relation to encountering grief in the workplace is that some form of leave is likely to be required. Compassionate leave is the obvious example, but it is not actually a statutory right. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted as being good practice to offer it. The option as to whether you pay workers or employees for compassionate leave is entirely yours, but you must apply that decision consistently. At the same time, grief is an entirely personal experience that is experienced differently from one person to another. One nuance of this is that the period of compassionate leave might be extended or could cease to become compassionate and may become sickness absence instead. Your compassionate leave policy must be quite clear on these sorts of factors. Quite separately, the statutory right to parental bereavement leave was introduced on 6th April 2021. This applies where the parents of a child under the age of 18 (including a child that is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy) lose that child. It can be taken as one week, in one continuous block of two weeks or in two separate blocks of one week each, provided that it is taken within 56 weeks of the child passing away or the stillbirth. It also comes with the right to statutory parental bereavement pay, which is paid at the same rate as statutory paternity pay (currently £151.97 or 90% of the parent’s average earnings, whichever is lower). Nevertheless, as a business, you might take the stance of enhancing statutory parental bereavement pay, perhaps to full pay.
Each of these forms of leave, which clearly interplay with absence caused by or related to grief, should be reflected in your staff handbook. What other assistance am I required to provide? Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have a general duty to ensure that workplace risks are at their minimum practical level. This might sound peculiar when considering grief, but grief does not necessarily end when the worker or employee has taken the relevant time away from work. They might, for example, feel ready to return to work, but then discover that they really are not, but feel guilty about broaching the topic of taking further time away from the workplace. This is why, just as with an employee returning from a period of sickness absence, it is a good idea to have a return-to-work meeting with the returning employee. There are also other forms of support that you could consider implementing that could have a beneficial impact, such as engaging a specific helpline staffed by professionals trained in discussing such matters (known as an employee assistance programme); training members of staff to become mental health first aiders, or even having a medically qualified specialist on-site. However, you might not have the resources available to you to afford such facilities, in which case, you might need to direct your workers and employees towards other specialist services and charities such as Mind. How should I handle the situation if I feel that someone needs help as a result of a bereavement, but they don’t want to get that help? In a phrase: very carefully. Ultimately, whilst an employer has duties towards a worker’s or an employee’s wellbeing, you as the employer can only be guided by the worker or employee. As each individual is different, each approach towards handling their grief in the workplace will also be different to some extent. It is therefore important that you seek out specific advice should this happen. ■ Richard Hiron is an Associate Solicitor at TP Legal Ltd specialising in all aspects of employment law. The firm was established in Woking over 9 years ago.
It is important to note that parental bereavement leave could also become compassionate leave and, from there, as indicated above, it could possibly become sickness absence. Additionally, or alternatively, a bereavement could result in a worker or employee requiring time off for dependants. It could, for instance, involve an aunt, uncle or other family member taking guardianship of an orphaned child. This form of leave is typically unpaid, although it does not have to be. It is also usually very brief, limited to one or two days to make emergency arrangements. SURREYLAWYER | 17
