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Work out the two weeks of Parental Bereavement Leave: how they can be split, which notice rule applies to each week, and the deadline for taking them. Northern Ireland rules included.
Northern Ireland covers more ground than Great Britain here, which is unusual.
The 56-week deadline and the 8-week notice window are both counted from this date.
The entitlement is two weeks for each child, so twins double it.
Parental Bereavement Leave
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Two weeks for each child, from the first day of employment, taken together or as separate weeks at any point in the 56 weeks that follow. The notice rule changes after the first 8 weeks, which is the part employers get wrong. The dates appear here as a step by step timeline.
Bereavement leave and pay, handled quietly
Moonworkers holds the dates against the employee, applies the Northern Ireland rules where they differ, opens the pay on the right payrun and files the recovery through your EPS, without anyone having to chase paperwork.
The entitlement itself is simple. The notice rules and the deadline are where employers slip.
Step 1
From the first day of employment, for a child who died under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks. Twins double it. In Northern Ireland, miscarriage counts too from 6 April 2026.
Step 2
In the first 8 weeks the employee only has to say something before their normal start time that morning. After that, a week’s notice before the week they want off.
Step 3
The weeks can be taken together or apart, at any point in the 56 weeks after the bereavement. Anything left after that is lost.
See also the neonatal care leave entitlement calculator and the maternity leave entitlement calculator.
Two weeks for each child who has died under 18 or was stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy. It can be taken as one block of two weeks, as two separate single weeks, or as a single week only.
Yes. Every employee gets the leave from their first day, with no length of service test. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is different: that needs 26 weeks of continuous employment and average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit.
From the date of the death or stillbirth onwards, and it has to be finished within 56 weeks of that date. Anything not taken inside that window is lost.
In the first 8 weeks, only notice before their normal start time on the first day they want off. From week 9 to week 56, at least one week’s notice before the start of the week they want off. Notice can be by phone, text or email and no evidence can be asked for.
For a bereavement on or after 6 April 2026, Northern Ireland also covers miscarriage, meaning a loss before 24 weeks of pregnancy. It applies to the woman who had the miscarriage and to anyone closely connected to her: the baby’s biological parent, her partner, or an intended parent under a surrogacy arrangement. Great Britain still stops at stillbirth after 24 weeks.
Parental Bereavement Leave starts after that other leave ends, including where the other leave is for a different child. If it gets interrupted by another statutory leave starting, the remaining entitlement can be taken afterwards, as long as it still falls inside the 56 weeks.
No. The employer cannot require written notice, ask for evidence of the death or stillbirth, or ask about the employee’s relationship with the child. In Northern Ireland miscarriage cases the employee makes a declaration of eligibility for the pay, but the employer still cannot ask for details.
£194.32 a week for 2026-27, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that is lower. Most employers reclaim 92% of it, and small employers whose total Class 1 National Insurance was £45,000 or less in the last complete tax year reclaim 109% under Small Employers’ Relief.
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