Requesting Compassionate Leave

Although there is no actual legal right to compassionate leave, the majority of responsible employers are keen to be fair in this area. Fairness, of course, is required from the employee, too, so do not expect your employer to be fair and flexible with you if you are forever coming up with new reasons to take paid time off.

What is Compassionate Leave?

The term ‘compassionate leave’ is taken to mean paid leave for all manner of ‘emotional and personal’ reasons that are not related to the illness of the employee involved, but rather domestic emergencies or personal issues relating to their spouse, children or parents. Some companies call this ‘time off for dependants’. It is also used for paid leave following the death of someone close in order to deal with the initial grieving.

The ‘someone close’ factor is very important, especially if your employer is relatively tight on such matters. Speaking as someone who asked their boss for a morning off to Attend A Family Funeral only to be asked ‘Who died?’, it is worth noting that such times can be very emotional, so it’s good to know the facts before you get into a situation that you may find upsetting.

Be Reasonable

Human resource professionals define compassionate leave as ‘reasonable time off for extreme personal reasons during working hours’, so it is not something to be seen as a ‘top up’ to your holiday entitlements, but neither should it be feared if totally necessary. Examples of understandable compassionate leave often relate to serious illness of spouse, children or parents, bereavement of a close relative, or unavoidable last-minute needs, such as a problem at your child’s school that requires your urgent attendance.

It is important to take control of the situation wherever possible because, sadly, there have been a number of cases where employees have been sacked during long-term compassionate leave, usually when their employer feels that the employee is taking advantage of their good will. If, perhaps, you are on compassionate leave following the death of someone close to you and you do not feel able to return to work, it is a good idea to have an appointment with your GP in order to be given a doctor's note.

Stay in Touch

It is advisable to stay in regular contact with your employer during your compassionate leave, especially if it is for a period of over two weeks. Speak to your boss, line manager or HR manager and keep them up to date with your progress, perhaps even suggesting returning for fewer hours if you are not ready for full-time employment.

Take it in Turns

One note of caution is that domestic emergencies are often dealt with by the wife/mother of the family. If both parents are working full-time and there is a domestic emergency, try to take it in turns to deal with it to reduce the impact on any one person’s career. Employers understand that issues arise and need to be dealt with at short notice, but they do not take kindly to it happening too often.