Payroll
experience, the new rules have been put into place to provide some sort of relief to employees going through a period of anguish and grief. These levels of upset could potentially be very difficult for affected individuals to manage within a work environment so the new rules seek to alleviate some of the pressure on people who go through this tremendous turmoil and to support them accordingly. The entitlement to take two weeks’ worth of unpaid leave will be a day- one right, with paid leave available to employees with 26 weeks’ worth of continuous employment, should they meet the other qualifying criteria. The eligibility criteria mirror those relating to paternity pay, so earnings prior to the period of eight weeks ending with the relevant week need to be at least the lower earnings limit at the end of the relevant week. The payment figures will be in line with other statutory payments and the weekly amount will be the same as for statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay, and statutory shared parental pay. If other statutory parental payments increase with the onset of a new tax year, then so will the statutory bereavement pay. There is also guidance relating to the staff member’s relationship with the deceased child. This doesn’t explicitly mean that the affected party has to be the child’s biological parent but that he or she would need to be classed as the ‘primary caregiver’ for that child in order to qualify for pay and leave. The leave will need to be taken within 56 weeks of the date that the child died. Employees are entitled to take two weeks’ worth of leave, which can be taken either in one full block or in two separate blocks, each consisting of a week. This is to ensure consistency with other statutory parental payments and is aligned with how statutory payments are made, as they can only be paid in full weeks. An employee may choose to only take a single week’s worth of leave if that is appropriate to their needs. The idea behind allowing the leave to be taken in two blocks is to accommodate employees who may find it more beneficial to have the time off in separate chunks, i.e. they may wish to take a week’s leave immediately after the child’s death and reserve the additional week to take time off around the anniversary of the death.
In terms of evidence that an employee will need to provide to their employer, the requirements mirror that of other elements of parental pay. Where the leave is unpaid, however, staff will not be expected to provide a written declaration prior to their period of leave. Where an employee is paid, to protect the employer and the Exchequer, the employee will need to sign a declaration stating that they meet the criteria for parental bereavement pay. There will be a flexible approach to this, and no exact timeframe imposed on the deadline to provide this statement. Due to the extreme sensitivity of the situation, employers will not be entitled to request a death certificate as evidence, as government wants to ensure that staff members grieving the loss of a child are not exposed to further potential upset. ...still much more room for improvement on the topic of bereavement pay and leave... Other bereavement payments There is in place a state statutory bereavement payment for those whose spouse or civil partner died before 6 April
2017. This payment consists of a one-off, tax-free lump-sum payment of £2,000, should certain conditions be met. If a person’s spouse or civil partner dies on or after 6 April 2017, he or she may be entitled to a different payment called bereavement support payment, which can consist of either a single payment or a series of payments, depending on individual circumstances. Comment Whilst the government has implemented some solid policies and procedures surrounding the treatment of individuals if they lose a spouse or civil partner, and for employees should they unfortunately have to deal with the death of a child, there is still much more room for improvement on the topic of bereavement pay and leave. Although parental bereavement pay and leave deserve particular applause, it feels – albeit the intention here is not to detract from this – as if more structured advice could be provided surrounding the topic of bereavement as a whole. The absence of any specific timeframe for statutory bereavement leave places employers in a bit of a limbo and forces them to make the commandeering decision on such a delicate topic. It also feels particularly harsh that there isn’t a legal entitlement to paid compassionate/ bereavement leave of any kind. Individuals may not need the added pressure of financial worry when they are already in a bad place. n
19
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 57 | February 2020
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker