When an employee loses a parent, a spouse, or a child, the last thing on their mind is filing a leave request. But someone on your team still needs to know they’ll be away, how long they’ll need, and what coverage looks like while they’re gone.
That’s what bereavement leave is for. And the tricky part is that there is no single standard. The US has no federal bereavement mandate. A handful of states have their own laws, each with different rules about duration, eligibility, and pay. Outside the US, entitlements range from one day in China to two weeks in the UK for loss of a child under 18.
This guide covers bereavement leave rules across US states and 18 countries, plus practical steps for building a policy that actually works when your team needs it.
What Is Bereavement Leave?
Bereavement leave (also called compassionate leave in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand) is time off an employee takes after the death of a family member or close relation. The leave covers attending funeral services, handling legal and estate matters, and having space to grieve without the pressure of work deadlines.
Most companies that offer bereavement leave provide 3 to 5 days for immediate family (spouse, parent, child, sibling) and 1 to 3 days for extended family (grandparent, in-law, aunt, uncle). Whether those days are paid depends on the employer, the jurisdiction, and sometimes the employee’s tenure.
“Immediate family” is not a universal definition. Some policies include domestic partners and stepchildren. Others stop at biological and legal relations. Your policy should spell out exactly who qualifies so managers don’t have to make judgment calls during an already difficult conversation.
US Federal Regulations on Bereavement Leave
There is no US federal law that requires private employers to provide bereavement leave. The two main federal labor statutes, FMLA and FLSA, don’t cover it directly.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for specific family and medical situations, but bereavement is not one of them. Some employers let employees use FMLA time after a death on a case-by-case basis, but that’s discretionary, not required.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs wages and hours. It does not require any form of leave, bereavement or otherwise.
Federal employees are a separate case. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) authorizes up to 104 hours of sick leave per year for bereavement purposes, including making funeral arrangements and attending services.
Because there is no federal mandate, bereavement leave in the US is governed by a patchwork of state laws and individual company policies.
Bereavement Leave Laws by State
Only a few US states have passed bereavement leave legislation. Most states leave it entirely up to the employer. Here is what the states with specific laws require:
| State | Leave entitlement | Key details |
|---|---|---|
| California | Up to 5 days (unpaid) | Employers with 5+ employees. Employee must have worked 30+ days. Covers spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, parent-in-law, sibling. Must be used within 3 months of the death. |
| Oregon | Up to 2 weeks per death, 4 weeks per year (unpaid) | Employers with 25+ employees. Covers funeral attendance, arrangements, or grieving. One of the most generous state-level policies in the US. |
| Illinois | Up to 10 working days (unpaid) | Employers with 50+ employees. Covers death of a family member, stillbirth, miscarriage, failed pregnancy, and other reproductive losses. Must be used within 60 days. Employer gets 48 hours’ notice. |
| Maryland | Up to 3 days (from accrued sick leave) | Employers with 15+ employees. Under the Flexible Leave Act, employees can use accrued sick days for bereavement. Covers child (under 18), spouse, parent (including stepparents). |
| Washington | 7 days (from Paid Family and Medical Leave) | Applies specifically to loss of a child. Employee must have been eligible for pregnancy/bonding leave to qualify. |
| New York | Up to 12 weeks (partially paid, through PFL) | Not a dedicated bereavement law, but Paid Family Leave can be used for bereavement-related family caregiving. Compensated at a percentage of average weekly wage. |
If your state is not listed above, that does not mean you cannot offer bereavement leave. It means the law doesn’t require it. Most employers in states without mandates still offer 3 to 5 paid bereavement days as part of their benefits package, because the alternative — an employee trying to work through the week their parent died — is worse for everyone.
Bereavement Leave Laws by Country
Bereavement leave varies widely outside the US. Some countries mandate paid leave by law. Others leave it to employers or collective agreements. Here is how 18 countries handle it:
| Country | Entitlement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2 days paid per occasion | Covers immediate family death, stillbirth, miscarriage. Unpaid for casual workers. Can be split with mutual agreement. |
| Belgium | 3-10 days | 3-10 days for spouse/child/parent; 2 days for siblings, grandparents, in-laws. Can be split within one year. |
| Brazil | 2 consecutive days | Immediate family. Collective agreements may extend. |
| Canada | 3-10 days (varies by province) | Federal: 10 days (3 paid). Ontario: 2 paid + 8 unpaid. BC/Alberta: 3 unpaid. Quebec: 5 days (2 paid). |
| Chile | 3-7 days paid | 7 days for spouse/civil partner/child. 3 days for other relatives. |
| China | 1-3 days paid | Specific duration set by local provinces. |
| Ethiopia | 3 days paid | Statutory minimum. |
| France | 3-14 days | 3 days for spouse/parent/sibling. 12 days for loss of a child (14 if child under 25). Child loss can be split into 2-3 periods within one year. |
| Indonesia | 2 days paid | Immediate family: parents, in-laws, spouse, children, siblings. |
| Japan | 3-5 days | Called kibiki kyuka (condolence leave). Duration depends on relationship closeness. Not legally mandated but nearly universal in practice. |
| Netherlands | No statutory requirement yet | Proposed: 5 paid days for full-time employees with minor children who lose a partner or child. |
| New Zealand | 3 days paid | Immediate family: spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, in-laws. 1 day for non-immediate with employer agreement. |
| Peru | 5 days | For child, spouse, parent, sibling. Additional days if travel required. |
| South Africa | 3 days paid per year | Full-time, 4+ months employed, 4+ days/week. Combines parental and bereavement benefits in one allocation. |
| Spain | 2-4 days paid | 2 days if funeral is in the same locality. 4 days if travel is required. |
| Turkey | 3 days | Employer-covered. |
| UAE | 3-5 days paid | 5 days for spouse death. 3 days for other close relatives. |
| United Kingdom | Up to 2 weeks paid | Applies to loss of a child under 18. Minimum £184.03/week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. |
A few patterns stand out across these countries. Entitlements are almost always longer for loss of a spouse or child than for extended family. Several countries (France, Belgium, Canada) allow the leave to be split across multiple weeks rather than taken all at once. And in countries without statutory requirements (like the Netherlands and, until recently, Japan), employer-provided bereavement leave is still standard practice.
Why Bereavement Leave Matters
Even where the law does not require it, bereavement leave is worth offering.
A grieving employee is not going to produce their best work. Concentration drops. Mistakes go up. The emotional weight makes even routine tasks feel overwhelming. Three to five days to attend the funeral, handle urgent paperwork, and start processing the loss means they come back in better shape than if they had pushed through.
Skipping bereavement leave does not save time. It shifts the cost. The employee who works through their parent’s funeral will likely take more sick days in the following months, disengage from projects, or start looking for a company that would have handled it differently.
The effect on the rest of the team matters too. When colleagues see that someone’s loss was met with bureaucratic friction or radio silence, they take note. When they see it met with clear support and quick coverage arrangements, that registers as well. Bereavement leave policies send a signal about what kind of workplace you are, and that signal affects retention beyond the one person who needed the leave.
How to Create a Bereavement Leave Policy
If your company does not have a written bereavement leave policy, start with clarity. When someone calls in after a death, nobody should be guessing what happens next.
Define who qualifies and for how long. Decide which relationships trigger bereavement leave and how many days each category gets. A common structure: 5 days for immediate family (spouse, parent, child, sibling), 3 days for extended family (grandparent, grandchild, in-law), and 1 day for close friends or non-family relationships at manager discretion. State whether the days are paid, unpaid, or drawn from existing PTO.
Set reporting expectations. Employees should know who to contact (direct manager, HR, or both), what information to provide (expected duration, any immediate coverage needs), and whether documentation is required. On the documentation question: some companies ask for a death certificate or funeral notice. Others take the employee’s word. Whatever you decide, put it in writing so the request comes from a policy, not from a manager asking a grieving person to prove their loss.
Include flexibility provisions. Grief does not follow a schedule. Someone who loses a parent across the country may need travel days. A person handling estate administration may need time weeks after the funeral. Consider allowing bereavement days to be taken non-consecutively within a 30- to 60-day window, or offering the option to supplement with PTO or unpaid leave.
Train managers on the conversation. Managers are usually the first people to hear about a death on the team. They need to know how to respond with empathy (not just process), what coverage to arrange, and how to handle the return. A short guide with a few example phrases goes further than most formal training sessions. “I’m sorry for your loss. Take the time you need. I’ll handle [project/meeting/deadline] while you’re out.” That is enough.
Address part-time and contract workers. These employees are often left out of bereavement policies. Decide in advance whether part-time staff receive prorated bereavement days and whether contractors can take unpaid time without penalty.
Managing Bereavement Leave with actiPLANS
When a bereavement request comes in, the last thing you want is a manual back-and-forth over email about remaining PTO balances, approval chains, and coverage gaps. actiPLANS handles the operational side so managers can focus on supporting the employee.
Custom leave types. Set up bereavement leave as its own category with separate rules for immediate and extended family. Employees see it as a distinct option when they submit a request, which means no confusion about whether bereavement days come out of their vacation balance.
Visual absence timeline. Check team availability instantly. When someone needs to take bereavement leave, the timeline shows who else is already out that week so you can arrange coverage before gaps appear.
Self-service requests and automated approvals. Employees submit bereavement leave from the web app or their phone. For leave types where you want zero friction (bereavement is a good candidate), actiPLANS can auto-approve requests so the employee doesn’t wait for a manager to click a button during a difficult week.
Mobile access. Employees can request leave from anywhere, which matters when they are traveling to a funeral or dealing with arrangements away from their desk.
Leave reports. Track bereavement leave usage across teams and periods. The data helps you evaluate whether your policy’s day allocation is realistic or whether employees consistently need more time than you’ve budgeted.
FAQ
How many bereavement days do you get?
There is no single answer. In the US, where no federal law mandates bereavement leave, most employers offer 3 to 5 paid days for immediate family and 1 to 3 for extended family. State laws vary: Oregon allows up to 2 weeks, Illinois up to 10 days, and California up to 5 days. Internationally, entitlements range from 1 day (China) to 2 weeks (UK for loss of a child under 18).
Is bereavement leave paid?
It depends on the employer and location. Most US companies that offer bereavement leave pay for it, but state laws that mandate bereavement leave (California, Oregon, Illinois) do not require it to be paid. Countries like Australia, Chile, France, and the UAE mandate paid bereavement leave by law. In Canada, some provinces pay a portion (Ontario pays 2 of 10 days, Quebec pays 2 of 5).
What is considered immediate family for bereavement leave?
Definitions vary by employer and jurisdiction. The most common definition includes spouse or domestic partner, parents (including stepparents), children (including stepchildren), and siblings. Some policies extend to grandparents, grandchildren, and in-laws. California’s law covers spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, and parent-in-law. Check your company policy or state law for the specific definition that applies to you.
What is the difference between bereavement leave and compassionate leave?
Bereavement leave is specifically for dealing with a death. Compassionate leave is a broader term used mainly in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand that can also cover caring for a seriously ill family member or dealing with a major personal crisis. In many countries, the two terms are used interchangeably when the leave is related to a death.
Can I use FMLA for bereavement leave?
FMLA does not explicitly include bereavement as a qualifying reason. However, some employers allow employees to use FMLA time after a death on a case-by-case basis, particularly when the death triggers a qualifying condition such as the employee’s own serious health condition (depression, grief-related illness). This is employer discretion, not a guaranteed right under the law.
What if my company does not offer bereavement leave?
Check whether your state has a bereavement leave law. If not, you may be able to use accrued vacation or personal days. Some employers will grant unpaid time off even without a formal policy. Talk to your manager or HR department directly. If you are a federal employee, you may be eligible for up to 104 hours of sick leave for bereavement purposes under OPM guidelines.
