Rights to Time Off For Funerals

Attending a funeral is difficult enough without having to worry about keeping your boss happy.

Invariably, needing to attend a funeral will mean that you have lost someone important to you, so you will be dealing with your own feelings of grief as well as trying to maintain composure at work.

Speak to Your Manager

It is important to keep your manager informed of the situation as simply not coming into work one day will not help them to be sympathetic.

If you need to attend the funeral of a friend or relative that has been ill, try to let your boss or line manager know of changes in their circumstances. Although you may prefer not to bring your private life into your workplace, this is bound to be an emotional time. If you let your employers know what is happening, they can be more understanding and allow time off for attending appointments or to help care for your friend or relative.

Compassionate Leave

Depending on your relationship to the person that is very ill or has died, you may be entitled to some compassion leave, either to help care for them or to deal with your own grief.

The legal guidelines set out by the Government talks about ‘time off for dependants’, but as this only refers to emergencies, if your employers is particularly strict, they may not give you time off if you know the person was ill.

Most employers will allow employees to take unpaid leave to attend funerals, although they may allow it to be paid time if the person concerned was a close relative, next of kin or dependant.

Wherever possible, give your employer notice of you plan to take time off for a funeral as they will probably need to arrange additional cover. It can be difficult to remember at this time that your workplace still needs to continue, which can make your boss or line manager seem rather harsh in these circumstances.

If you feel as though you have been treated unfairly for any reason, the ACAS website is a great source of official information regarding employment law. They also have a telephone advice line.

Employee Handbook

Although it may be the last thing you feel like doing, do consult your employee handbook. Depending on the size of your company, there may be an official procedure for taking time off to attend funerals which can make it easier when you go to speak to your boss or line manager.

If you have come back to work after the death of someone important to you but you are finding it hard to concentrate on your work, you may ask your workplace for some time off. They may simply suggest you take a day or two to look after yourself, in which case they may or may not pay you – do check this will your HR department first or you may end up more stressed than before as you won’t know what’s happening.

If the time of the funeral you are attending is in the morning, don’t necessarily think that you will feel able to come back to work in the afternoon. They are very difficult occasions, so you may be better taking a full day off, even if you have to use a half days holiday.

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