Compassionate Leave For a Funeral?

Q.

Am I entitled to time off for my Father-in-law's funeral? I work full time

Colleagues have told me I am only entitled to compassionate leave if it is for immediate 'blood' family.

A.

Sorry to hear about the death of your father in law. These things can never come at a good time but it makes the situation easier to cope with if you have a supportive employer.

There are some legislations in place that allow employees to take unpaid time off for compassionate leave but unless they are a direct relative it can be uncertain whether you are entitled to it.

What your colleagues are referring to is ‘time off for dependents’ which is also counted as compassionate leave. A dependent is defined as someone who relies on you for their care or lives in your home with you. There is a grey area around elderly relatives but unless your father in law lived with you or you were responsible for his everyday care, he doesn’t strictly count as a dependent.

Most employers are reasonable about the need for compassionate leave and will allow you take a necessary amount of unpaid time off. After all, we cannot predict these things and everybody is faced with emergencies or deaths at some point in their working life.

However, unless the person is a dependent then they are not required to do so by law. The first thing to do is to check your contract of employment as this should lay out your company’s policy on compassionate leave. If they say that compassionate leave is available, then they must stick to this promise when the situation arises.

If your contract doesn’t lay out the policy for compassionate leave, or it looks like your situation is not covered, then approach your employer. Tell them the situation and the time that you need to take off and hopefully, as long as it is a reasonable request, they will agree.

It is only compulsory to give employees time off for dependents but as your father in law is obviously a legitimate loss, your employer should be willing to offer compassionate leave. Unfortunately, unless it is written in your contract, there are no guarantees that leave will be granted but if not, then you can still use your holiday allowance to take days off as needed.

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