My Mum died recently, I took 5 days off to be with my Dad and to grieve.
I returned to work before the funeral and I was asked “what do I want to do with the time off” by my employer.
I asked “is there any compassionate leave? after 10 years of employment ?”
He said he could lose a day, maybe 2, but he has had to employ agency cover for me.
I have said that the company are being harsh as it is the loss of a parent.
I would just like opinions please.
The funeral is this week, and I am taking two more days off.
Honest opinions, being legal or not please.
When my dad died, my gaffer said I was entitled to 3 days paid compassionate leave. But my boss is quite a reasonable guy if you are the same with him so he gave me the whole week off paid. I’m not sure if companies need to pay you or not, or if its at their discretion.
In answer to your question there is no legal right to paid time off for compassionate reasons. Some companies will pay, some won’t and it’s at their discretion.
sorry to hear of your loss pal I view situations like this as when you can see an employer in their true light and judge whether you want to stay with them.a few days off in comparison to a loss of a parent is irrelevant.when I lost my parents both times my bosses only concern was what he could do to help me out to alleviate the stress I will never forget that.
I lost my dad two years ago thins month and I was full time employed at the time. What they told me was take as much time as you need but its unpaid (well,not as cold hearted as that but you get the point).
Is a couple of days pay really worth worrying about? It’s just going to add to your already heightened stress levels during one of the most difficult of times.
Sadly I think it’s up to the company, always interesting to see how they deal with it when they are in your shoes though. Treat them how they treat you.
My mother went into hospital a couple of years ago, after six weeks of deterioration the consultant called us in to say she had hours, possibly days left, this was on a Monday morning around 10am. I called the tm to let him know the situation,I was on nights for them, he said don’t come in until it’s resolved, she hung on until Thursday pm. They rang every day, not to check up but to make sure I was ok & have a bit chat. Went in on the Monday, thanked everyone, told them the funeral was on Thursday,they said take the two days off and come in Monday if I felt up to it, I did. I got paid all the way through, never lost a penny. Thing is the company had a terrible name up here, looked on as a dodgy place to work & looked down on by the so called superior companies.
Chin up my friend and think of the good times you had with her.
so sorry for your loss…we used to get 2 days paid for loss of parent back in Scotland and as much as you wanted after (unpaid) with no strings attached …but in Canada where I was …I worked a year ,had an accident at work on ice and was off work for 6months …and first day back had a phone call saying my dad passed . I phoned up dispatch was 9hrs away from the yard ,was told either turnback or unload and bobtail back …went to unload at a factory about 11hrs away from yard. ,signed in was told work had phoned ,the depot staff had told the drivers in front about me was waved to the front ,told to unhook and they would take it off the bay and head back with the unit. had 2weeks back in Scotland sorting things out. got back to work nothing bad said about time off just a sympathy card signed by the owners /office staff with a cheque in . jimmy.
Firstly, sorry for your loss. My old company Panic Transport at Rugby, were brilliant when my sister died, They said take what you need and paid throughout. Think I took a week. The ■■■■■■ I worked for when my Son died was a ■■■■■■ and was more concerned about where his van was!
I can’t find any information to back this up so it may have changed but for the death of a family member you used to be able to take 3 days paid leave, that is days extra to your holiday days.
sorry for your loss mate
as i have posted on the Family site,i went into work this morning facing a gruelling day,mentioned to the TM my daughter has just been admitted to the maternity ward expecting my first grandchild…he said ‘go home,you’re on compassionate leave’ yes,i will be getting paid.DHL.
Can I echo what other have said and say sorry to hear of your loss. I’ve been working with my current employer for over 15 years and both my father and mother have died over recent years. On both occasions they’ve basically said I could have as long off as I wanted, but I think on both occasions I was only paid for either 2 or 3 days. I don’t hold this against my employer as legally I don’t think they have to pay more than this, I actually think there needs to be legislation in this area to protect employees and offer them a minimum amount of days pay if a close loved one dies. I’m not saying employers should have to pay us a fortune for having weeks off if a distant cousin dies, but if it’s your spouse, child or parent then I really think that 2 days pay is not sufficient. Should people really be expected to go back to work after a few days off when your parents have died? In my case, as an only child, there was A LOT of sorting out to be done to arranging the funerals and sort out their estates, which alone required days of hard work on the phone.
What annoyed me most was that the Company didn’t pay me a £50 Christmas bonus one year due to taking 2 weeks off when my Mum died. Technically speaking you’re only entitled to it if you have a 100% attendance record for the entire year. As I hadn’t been absent due to illness, I had taken just the 2 weeks off, I thought this was poor to treat an employee of 15+ years. I complained about it but was told ‘Those are the rules, if we make an exception for you then we’ll have to do it for everyone else.’ So I just swallowed it. Suffice to say, as an hourly-paid employee I’ve made up the £50 over time by taking the odd extra 15 mins here and there to do the job, shouldn’t have to do it but it really riled me so I did do it!
Lost me mum on 27/12 after a short illness.
Work knew how ill she was and was basically telling me take any tome you need while she was in icu.
When we lost her I txt my line managers to let them know. Went in on the monday to be told go home till its sorted on full pay.
Couldn’t face being at home alone for 3 days as wife was working so worked in the yard or rather sat in office drinking brews.
Was off from the 31/12 for week and a half. area boss saying full pay…
Got 5 days for me dad only. But think my current firm values me more.
Every firm or boss varies. Mines great as I am now able to take time to deal with all the legal stuff.
2 years ago our son died the same day he was born and my TM told me not to go back for at least a month and look after my wife he gave me full pay and paid me overtime that I had averaged over the last six months. It was a massive help and now if he asks me for a favour I will bend over backwards to try and help so it works both ways.
bigvern1:
The [zb] I worked for when my Son died was a ■■■■■■ an[/list]d was more concerned about where his van was!
I hope he then became your EX employer. I dont have children but I know it must be one of the worst losses possible so to work for someone like that is shocking.
When I was a TM in the NHS I had a big book of NHS rules and agreements. There were several pages on compassionate leave which detailed the relationships that were considered ‘close’ and qualified for three days paid, and those that only got you one for the funeral.
There was some flexibility in that, as a manager, I could grant extra unpaid days, and also, where the deceased wasn’t that close (Aunt or cousin) but was living with the member of staff, the maximum paid days. It was pretty complicated and had been developed over years as people on the one hand made perfectly legitimate claims, and on the other the skivers who wanted a day off for granny’s funeral so they could go to some football match.
my sympathy for your loss mate.
this gives some info, from the ACAS website.
it seems that there may be a legal right to reasonable time off for the death of a “dependant”. Possibly you can make this work but I doubt it.
Compassionate leave: Taking time off for a bereavement
When someone close dies, the last thing most people want to do is trawl through their contract of employment to see whether they are entitled to any compassionate leave. Neither would most people relish the prospect of an awkward conversation with a line manager, having to explain who died in order to justify a short period away.
All employees are entitled to ‘time off for dependants’. This is a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to deal with unforeseen matters and emergencies involving a dependant, including leave to arrange or attend a funeral. A ‘dependant’ could be a spouse, partner, child, parent or anyone living in the household. It could also be someone who relies on an employee for their care or for help during an emergency, such as an elderly neighbour.
But what if the deceased is not a dependant? Many employers do have a policy for compassionate leave, which employees can find in their contracts or company handbooks. Experts maintain that writing paid compassionate bereavement leave into a contract can be a major support to employees, and have a long-term positive impact on their relationship with employers. Having a scheme in place is also helpful for managers, who can fall back on written policy and are spared the ordeal of having to assess the seriousness of the situation themselves.
Without such a scheme, it is up to employers to use their discretion, being as reasonable and as consistent as possible. Managers will have to have an eye on what the custom and practice has been in the past and apply precedents fairly and consistently. Even so, employees cannot expect to be granted leave automatically. When leave isn’t granted, they may have to use their holiday allowance.
Acas can give advice on Bereavement in the workplace and all aspects of leave-taking, including Time off for dependants. Acas also offers training courses on Human resources management for beginners, which covers how to deal with leave procedures.
I view situations like this as when you can see an employer in their true light and judge whether you want to stay with them.a few days off in comparison to a loss of a parent is irrelevant.when I lost my parents both times my bosses only concern was what he could do to help me out to alleviate the stress I will never forget that.
. I phoned up dispatch was 9hrs away from the yard ,was told either turnback or unload and bobtail back …went to unload at a factory about 11hrs away from yard. ,signed in was told work had phoned ,the depot staff had told the drivers in front about me was waved to the front ,told to unhook and they would take it off the bay and head back with the unit. had 2weeks back in Scotland sorting things out. got back to work nothing bad said about time off just a sympathy card signed by the owners /office staff with a cheque in . jimmy.
yes,i will be getting paid.DHL.