What Ipswich employees need to know about new bereavement leave rights

Why it matters: Access to bereavement leave currently depends on individual employer policies and discretion. The new law will give every employee, from their first day in a job, a guaranteed legal right to time off following a bereavement, without having to provide evidence of their loss.

The details: From April 2027, the following changes will come into force:

• Employees who lose a spouse, partner, parent, adult child or sibling will be entitled to two weeks of bereavement leave.
• Parental Bereavement Leave will be extended to women and their partners, including intended parents in surrogacy arrangements, who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. This covers miscarriage, terminations and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers, with those affected entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave.
• The definition of family will widen to include step, half, adoptive, kinship care and foster relationships.
• Leave can be taken flexibly within 56 weeks of the loss, including as individual days.
• Employees will not be required to provide evidence of their loss.

What they're saying: Ipswich MP Jack Abbott has welcomed the changes. "Behind every loss is a family that deserves time to heal, time to grieve should not depend on where you work," he said. "These changes will deliver security and breathing room for families in Ipswich, giving them the right to grieve loss in the way that works for them."

What it means for employers: Local employment solicitors have urged Ipswich businesses to begin reviewing their policies now.

Lloyd Clarke, partner and head of employment law at Attwells, said existing "ad hoc, manager's-discretion approaches will no longer be compliant" once the statutory right takes effect. He said most employers would need to update their policies in four areas: widening the scope of family relationships covered, removing any length-of-service qualifying period, dropping evidence requirements, and introducing clear provision for pregnancy loss, "distinct from sickness absence."

Madeleine Oakley, a solicitor in Ellisons’ employment team, said the changes reflect "a growing understanding that grief does not follow a timetable," and advised employers to start preparing well ahead of the 2027 deadline so managers understand "who may be eligible for leave, what the new rights are, and how requests should be handled."

What to look out for: Both solicitors flagged the removal of any evidence requirement as a notable departure from typical employment practice. Clarke said it "may create challenges for employers in managing potential abuse of the system," although he added that such concerns "must be balanced against the need to support genuinely bereaved employees with dignity and compassion." Oakley said she thought it "unlikely that many people would misuse a right designed to support them through such personal and difficult circumstances."

Both solicitors also pointed to the fact that general bereavement leave will be unpaid as a bigger practical issue. Clarke noted that many bereaved employees are already signed off sick, during which they may receive statutory sick pay, meaning "employers see few employees wishing to utilise the new entitlement." Oakley said unpaid leave could mean some employees "choose to use annual leave instead" due to financial pressures.

For context: The changes build on the existing right to Parental Bereavement Leave, which already applies to parents who experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy or the death of a child under 18. They form part of the Government's wider Make Work Pay plan to strengthen employment rights.

What's next: The Government is also carrying out a wider review of parental leave and pay, including areas such as Hugh's Law and the rights of parents with terminally ill children.

The bottom line: For the first time, bereaved employees across Ipswich will have a guaranteed legal right to time off, covering a far wider range of relationships than most current employer policies allow. Local solicitors agree businesses should start reviewing their policies now, even though the changes remain some way off.

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