How do I get bereavement leave?
My boss won’t let me go to a Tangi. What are my rights here?
How do I get bereavement leave?
To get bereavement leave you must ask your boss for bereavement leave, tell them what dates you need the leave on and tell them about your relationship to the person who has died. If the person who has died is an immediate family member then you can normally take three days bereavement leave. An immediate family member is your:
spouse or partner
- parent
- child
- brother or sister
- grandparent
- grandchild
- spouse’s or partner’s parent
You can also get one day leave for the death of a person not in the above list if your employer accepts that you are particularly close to that person, have large responsibilities in the planning of their funeral or have cultural responsibilities that you must meet because of this person’s death. You can get bereavement leave after you’ve worked continuously for your employer for six months or you have worked for your employer, over a period of six months, not continuously, but for:
- at least an average of 10 hours per week during that period; and
- at least one hour per week or at least 40 hours per month during that period.
Bereavement leave is paid leave.
My boss won’t let me go to a Tangi. What are my rights here?
You are entitled to bereavement leave as outlined above in “How do I get bereavement leave?”. If your boss won’t let you take a day off to go to a Tangi and you have tried to reason with them, then you can contact the Department of Labour on 0800 20 90 20 or your local Citizens Advice Bureau. If you require more than the standard bereavement leave because your role in the Tangi will last longer than three days, or one day if the deceased was not a close relative, you will have to negotiate additional leave with your employer.