EMPLOYMENT LAW JACK RAINBOW
Bereavement leave changes Death is an unfortunate reality of life, and it is human nature to need time to grieve and mourn the passing of a loved one. Jack Rainbow, Solicitor at Dundas Street Employment Lawyers, looks at New Zealand’s employment laws relating to bereavement.
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alls to update our bereavement laws have been increasing. Questions are being raised about whether minimum bereavement leave entitlements are fit for purpose, including whether they encompass the full range of bereavements and sufficiently accommodate differing cultural practices.
The law as it stands
Current law is reasonably prescriptive about when an employee becomes entitled to bereavement leave, how much leave they are entitled to, and which bereavements they can take leave for. Under the Holidays Act 2003, employees are entitled to paid bereavement leave after they have completed six months’ continuous service with their employer.1 Once eligible, the Act creates two categories of entitlement:
1. Three days’ bereavement leave following the death of a close family member, which is limited to a spouse or partner, parent, child, brother or sister, grandparent, grandchild or spouse or partner’s parent. 2. One day’s bereavement leave if the employer accepts the employee has suffered a bereavement as a result of any other person’s death. In deciding whether an employee should be provided with the second category of leave, an employer must consider several factors as set out in the legislation: • the employee’s closeness to the deceased • the degree of responsibility the employee has for the funeral arrangements • any cultural responsibilities the employee may have in relation to the death. The regime’s rigidity often means employees do not receive sufficient support or time to grieve following bereavement.
The untimeliness of death
Death does not wait for the most convenient time to occur. It can be sudden and unexpected, and it will often require a person to drop
everything at a moment’s notice and for some time. This already difficult time is particularly hard for new employees, who are not necessarily entitled to paid leave of any kind from the outset of employment. That can mean individuals have limited options at a point where they need time and support to grieve. In practice, many employers understand and provide some form of paid leave or an advance on leave entitlements. However, this is not always a given, and some employees do miss out.
Culturally appropriate?
The narrow remit of bereavement leave entitlements gives rise to genuine and important questions about how well different cultural practices, particularly regarding familial relationships and funeral or ceremonial arrangements, are accommodated within our increasingly diverse workplaces. Different cultures celebrate and grieve bereavements in a variety of ways, including lengthy funeral ceremonies, depending on the closeness of the relationship with the deceased, and the requirements of fundamental cultural and religious customs and traditions around death.
1 An employee may also be entitled to bereavement leave if, over a 6-month period, they have worked for an employer for at least an average of 10 hours a week during that period, and no less than 1 hour in every week during that period or no less than 40 hours in every month during that period. See section 63(1) of the Holidays Act 2003.
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HUMAN RESOURCES
WINTER 2021
