The 2nd to 8th December is National Grief Awareness Week, with the campaign focusing on connecting communities with bereavement services. Many employees will, at some point, grieve in the workplace, with their colleagues forming part of their immediate community. During this blog, we’ll explore how employers can support their employees through grief, empowering managers with the skills they’ll need to help.
In the UK, there’s no statutory right regarding paid bereavement leave. Most employers offer three to five days of paid leave, judging each situation individually. Employees who want or need to take more time off are generally expected to request unpaid leave or use their annual leave allowance.
However, there are some circumstances where this may differ, and ACAS is a valuable resource for employees unsure of their entitlement, should they need it.
58% of employees said grief impacted their performance at work months after bereavement (Marie Curie).
Grief doesn’t come with a time limit, but as human beings with loved ones in our lives, we know that we’ll need more than three days to come to terms with our loss. However, we also know that we need to work to pay our bills, especially if we have dependents.
For this reason, many employees will go through the grief cycle whilst continuing to work, which is why employers and managers must prepare to support them.
In this blog, we take a look at: the importance of flexibility, creating a community, remove the taboo, and empowering managers.