Is There Bereavement Leave for Family Loss? Seeking HR Insights and Experiences

Dear HR professionals,

Please let me know whether there is leave associated with the demise of a family member?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Please let me know if any of you have heard of any of the following leaves that can be applied to the above:

Special Leave

The aim of the Special Leave Policy is to provide a framework that enables employees to request reasonable time off for:

- Serious illness or bereavement of a close relative (Compassionate leave).
- Unforeseen emergencies involving dependants or unexpected domestic emergencies (Emergency leave).
- Essential civic and public duties.
- Service in the Reserve Forces.
- Jury Service and attendance in court as a witness.
- Gender reassignment.
- Fertility treatment.
- Elective surgery/procedures.
- Religious or belief-related obligations.
- Voluntary work.

Compassionate Leave

Bereavement Leave

Hi, Following leaves as specified by the respective Act would be sufficient. Anything over and above is at the discretion of the employer.

Leave for the demise of a family member

For the demise of a family member, casual leave would be sufficient.

Scrutinizing leave requests

When you apply for different leaves like compassionate leave or emergency leave, how will you scrutinize the genuineness of such requests? Our employees are well-known for asking for leave due to the death of the same grandmother or grandfather many times!

Yes, there is a leave associated with the demise of a family member in Navi Mumbai, India. It is called bereavement leave.

What is Bereavement Leave?

Bereavement leave is a period of paid time off that is granted to employees after the death of a close family member. The amount of bereavement leave offered varies from employer to employer. In Navi Mumbai, most employers offer between 3 and 5 days of bereavement leave.

How to Request Bereavement Leave

To request bereavement leave, you will need to provide your employer with a death certificate and a written request. The request should state the name of the deceased, the date of death, and the relationship between the deceased and you.

You should also let your manager know when you expect to return to work.

Yes, bereavement or funeral leave can be granted. I am happy to state that while offering my HR consulting services, I introduced this type of leave in two medium-sized organizations as part of employee engagement and retention initiatives. During the death of a close family member, the person should not feel pressured about work or leave consumption and should get some time to recover from the grief—this is the intention of bereavement leave.

Apart from the suggestions above, two points from my side:

1. A close family member should be defined as a spouse, children, siblings, parents, and in-laws.
2. Allow this leave to be prefixed or suffixed with CL or EL if required.