When a loved one dies, we want to be close to our family, but many people are not sure about their rights when applying for bereavement leave from their company. At Stelae we try to solve these queries so that you can spend this time with your loved ones.
How many days leave do I have after the death of a family member?
The rules regarding the amount of leave someone is allowed after the death of a family member are set out in the Workers’ Statute. However, there are collective agreements that improve these conditions further, so you should consult your specific case if necessary.
Generally speaking, ‘the worker, with prior notice and justification, may be absent from work, with the right to full remuneration’, for either:
- Two days of leave for the death of a spouse, common-law partner or relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity.
- Four days of leave when, for this reason, you need to travel.
Bereavement leave allows you to take time off without losing money or using holiday entitlement. If the death occurs in the same city where you work, you can have two days of leave, whilst if it occurs in a different location, you can have four days.
What if the death occurs on a day off?
After a change to the regulations in 2020, it was established that leave days following the death of a family member are counted from the first working day after the day of the death of a loved one, regardless of whether it occurred during a working day or a rest day.
However, this does not apply to public holidays that interrupt a regular working week. For example, if the bereavement leave starts on a Monday and Tuesday is a public holiday, the employee must return to work on Wednesday, as Tuesday - despite being a public holiday - would be considered as a day of leave.
Can bereavement leave be used by any family member?
You are entitled to between two and four days leave for the death of one of your parents and the same for one of your grandparents, but for the death of an aunt or uncle you are not entitled to any leave.
The important thing to remember is that it must be a relative up to the second degree of consanguinity (immediate family) or affinity (in-laws).
This means that you can ask for bereavement leave when parents, children, spouses, father or mother-in-law (all considered first-degree relatives), siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and brother or sisters-in-law (second-degree) die, but aunts, uncles and cousins are excluded because they belong to the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity, respectively.
In short, bereavement leave following the death of a family member depends on the level of kinship with the deceased person.
Can the company refuse to give bereavement leave?
If you meet the requirements to apply for leave due to the death of a family member (spouse, common-law partner or relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity) and you are entitled to those two or four days, the company cannot refuse to allow you to take time off from work under any circumstances.
Collective agreements or company agreements may establish the possibility of negotiating when requesting these days and even splitting them up, but never with the intention of cancelling or preventing the worker from taking this leave.
How do I notify the company that a family member has died?
The best thing to do when a family member dies is to request permission from your company as soon as possible in writing. Notify the company you work for in writing so that your request can be recorded so that you can justify any absence from work.
Just send an e-mail or fax to the company, explaining the situation and requesting the relevant days.
It is important to notify the company as soon as possible because, as already mentioned, the days of leave that you may be entitled to, are counted from the first working day following the day of the death of your relative.
You do not need to take any other steps, but you should be aware that, in order to substantiate the reason for your absence, the company may request proof as to why you are absent. This means that, if the company deems it necessary, it may ask you to provide the death certificate of your relative and even a family record book to verify that you are a relative up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity.
It is also possible that the company may want to check if the death actually occurred in a different city, so it is advisable to request a receipt at the funeral home or with the funeral company so that there is no problem.
For more information, you can consult Stelae’s services, which include the management of certain administrative procedures and family assistance.
