Compassionate & Bereavement Leave: A Simple Policy
What compassionate and bereavement leave is, typical durations, paid vs unpaid, a free sample policy template, and how to track it without eating into annual leave.
When someone loses a parent, a partner, or a child, the last thing they should be doing is negotiating their time off or counting it against their summer holiday. Yet that's exactly what happens when there's no compassionate leave policy — a grieving employee ends up asking "how many days can I have?" at the worst possible moment, and a manager has to improvise an answer they'll feel bad about either way.
A short, kind compassionate and bereavement leave policy removes that. It says, in advance, that the company has people's backs at the hardest times — and it gives managers a humane default to fall back on. Here's what it covers, a sample policy you can adapt, and why it should be tracked as its own thing.
What is compassionate and bereavement leave?
Compassionate leave is time off to deal with a personal emergency or crisis affecting someone close — most often a serious illness or death in the family. Bereavement leave is the part specifically for grieving and managing affairs after a death. The terms are often used interchangeably, and many policies simply bundle them together.
The point of both is the same: to give someone space to cope, grieve, and handle practical matters (funerals, paperwork, supporting family) without worrying about work or their holiday balance.
How long is it, usually?
There's rarely a single legally fixed duration, so most organisations set their own — generally a small number of days, scaled to how close the relationship was. Common, typical (not mandated) patterns look like:
- Immediate family (partner, child, parent) — often around 3–5 days, sometimes more.
- Close relatives (sibling, grandparent) — often around 1–3 days.
- Wider circle (in-laws, close friends) — often 1 day, or discretionary.
Treat these as a sensible starting point, not a rule. Grief doesn't follow a fixed timetable, so the best policies pair a clear default with explicit discretion to extend.
A note on the law. Some jurisdictions mandate a minimum amount of bereavement or compassionate leave (and some specify it for particular losses, such as the death of a child); many leave it entirely to the employer. The durations above are common practice, not legal requirements. This is general guidance, not legal advice — check the rules in your jurisdiction.
Paid or unpaid?
This is a choice, and it sets the tone. Many employers offer compassionate leave as fully paid, at least for the core days and for immediate family — it's a relatively small cost that signals genuine care when it matters most. Others offer a paid core (say, the first few days) with the option of additional unpaid time, or paid time off for closer relationships and unpaid for the wider circle.
Whatever you decide, state it plainly. Ambiguity about pay is the last thing a grieving person should have to chase.
The template (copy this)
You can adapt this as a starting point. It's a template, not legal advice — fill in the brackets to match your situation and local rules.
Compassionate & Bereavement Leave Policy — [Company Name]
1. Purpose. This leave gives you time to cope with a serious illness, emergency, or bereavement affecting someone close to you, without using your annual leave.
2. Entitlement. On the death of an immediate family member (partner, child, parent) you may take [up to 5] days of paid compassionate leave. For other close relatives, [up to 3] days. Additional time may be granted at your manager's discretion.
3. Pay. Compassionate leave is [paid at full pay] for the days above. Any further time agreed beyond this may be [paid, unpaid, or taken as annual leave] by agreement.
4. How to request it. Let [your manager] know as soon as you're able — a message or call is fine. We don't expect formal notice; we just need to know so we can arrange cover and support you.
5. Evidence. We don't routinely ask for evidence. In exceptional cases we may sensitively confirm details for longer absences.
6. Annual leave. Compassionate and bereavement leave is separate from your annual leave and does not reduce your holiday balance.
7. Support. Beyond time off, support such as [flexible hours on return / an employee assistance programme] is available — please talk to us about what would help.
Swap the bracketed values for your own and you have a humane, usable policy in minutes. It sits naturally alongside your annual leave policy and sick leave policy as part of the same short handbook.
Why you should track it as its own leave type
It's tempting to wave compassionate leave through informally — "just take what you need." That kindness is right, but the tracking still matters, for two reasons.
First, it must not quietly eat into annual leave. If bereavement days get logged as holiday (or not logged at all and then "made up" later), the employee loses time they were entitled to, and your balances stop reflecting reality. Recording it as a distinct leave type keeps holiday untouched.
Second, visibility helps you support people. Knowing who's on compassionate leave — without prying into the details — lets managers arrange cover, hold off on non-urgent asks, and check in appropriately when someone returns.
| Compassionate / bereavement | Annual leave | |
|---|---|---|
| Reason | Crisis or loss | Rest, holidays |
| Planned? | No — sudden | Yes — booked ahead |
| Approval | Notified, supported | Requested and approved |
| Pay | Often paid (your choice) | Full pay |
| Tracked as | Its own leave type | Vacation balance |
How Absenca handles compassionate leave
Absenca lets you add compassionate or bereavement leave as its own custom leave type, completely separate from holiday — so taking time after a loss never touches someone's vacation balance. Requests can be logged in seconds (no friction at a hard moment), they appear on the shared team calendar so cover is easy to arrange, and approvals route to the right manager with a clean audit log. Because it's a distinct type, you keep accurate records without ever conflating grief with annual leave.
It's free for up to 15 people (a real free tier, not a trial), then $0.75/user/month after that — so a kinder policy costs you nothing to track.
Frequently asked questions
How many days of bereavement leave should we offer? There's rarely a fixed legal figure, so it's your call. A common, humane default is around 3–5 paid days for an immediate family member, with discretion to extend. Some jurisdictions do set a minimum (occasionally for specific losses) — this is general guidance, not legal advice, so check your local rules.
Should bereavement leave be paid? That's a policy choice. Many employers pay at least the core days at full pay because it's a small cost that signals real care; others offer a paid core plus optional unpaid time. Whatever you choose, state it clearly so a grieving employee never has to ask.
Can compassionate leave come out of annual leave? It shouldn't. Track it as its own leave type so holiday balances stay intact — making someone use their summer holiday to grieve is both unkind and bad record-keeping. Keep the two separate.
Do we need proof, like a death certificate? Most policies don't routinely ask for evidence, and requesting it can feel cold. If you do verify anything for longer absences, do it sensitively. Be explicit in the policy so expectations are clear up front.
Track compassionate leave with care — Absenca keeps it separate from holiday so balances stay honest at the hardest times, free for up to 15 people. Next: grab the free annual leave policy template.