Bereavement Leave After a Child's Death: Your Rights in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia

The Law Varies Enormously by Country

The amount of job-protected time you receive after your child's death depends entirely on where you live and who employs you. Some jurisdictions provide two years of protected leave. Others provide nothing at all. Knowing your rights before you speak with HR helps you avoid accepting less than you are entitled to while your cognitive function is impaired by grief.

United States

There is no federal law requiring private employers to provide paid or unpaid bereavement leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does not cover bereavement directly, though it may apply if you develop a qualifying mental health condition (clinically diagnosed depression or PTSD) as a result of your loss.

Six states have statutory bereavement leave provisions:

• California: Up to 5 days unpaid leave, must be completed within 3 months (employers with 5+ employees)
• Illinois: Up to 10 days unpaid leave per event (employers with 50+ employees)
• Maryland: Employers with 15+ employees must allow use of accrued paid leave for bereavement
• Oregon: Up to 2 weeks unpaid leave per event, must be completed within 60 days (employers with 25+ employees; employees must have worked at least 180 days and average 25 or more hours per week)
• Vermont: Up to 2 weeks unpaid leave (employers with 10+ employees)
• Washington: Employees may use accrued paid sick leave for bereavement

Federal government employees receive a separate entitlement under the Parental Bereavement Leave Act: up to two workweeks (80 hours) of fully paid leave within 12 months of a qualifying child's death. This leave does not reduce accrued sick or vacation balances.

If your state has no statute, you are dependent on your employer's internal bereavement policy. Many large employers provide 3 to 5 days of paid leave as a standard benefit, but this is discretionary and can be modified or denied.

United Kingdom

Jack's Law (the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act, April 2020) provides all employed parents with two weeks of statutory leave from day one of employment. No qualifying period is required.

You can take the leave as a single two-week block or as two separate one-week blocks, at any time within 56 weeks of the child's death. This applies to the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after the 24th week of pregnancy.

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is available to employees who have at least 26 weeks of continuous service and meet minimum weekly earnings thresholds. For 2026/27, the rate is the lower of £194.32 per week or 90% of your average weekly earnings.

Canada

Federally regulated employees receive up to 10 days of bereavement leave under the Canada Labour Code, with the first 3 days paid if the employee has at least 3 consecutive months of service.

Provincial leave is significantly more generous for child death:

• British Columbia: Up to 104 weeks (2 years) of unpaid, job-protected leave for any parent whose child under 19 dies. If the child disappeared as a result of a crime and is later found deceased, the leave converts from 52 weeks to 104 weeks.
• Ontario: Up to 104 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for employees with at least 6 months of continuous service. Parents can share this allotment and must provide a written plan to their employer. If the death was crime-related, parents may also be eligible for the Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime, providing federal income support for up to 35 weeks.

Employment Insurance (EI) Parental Benefits cease at the end of the week of the child's death, but mothers remain eligible for up to 15 weeks of EI Maternity Benefits for physical recovery, and either parent can access up to 15 weeks of EI Sickness Benefits for grief-related health conditions.

Australia

The Fair Work Act provides all permanent employees with 2 days of paid compassionate leave per eligible occasion. Casual employees receive 2 days unpaid. This applies immediately — no minimum service period.

If a child dies within the first 24 months of life (or is stillborn), eligible employees can take up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave, extendable to 24 months with employer agreement. The employer cannot require an early return or cancel planned parental leave because of the child's death.

The government-funded Paid Parental Leave scheme reaches 26 weeks (130 days) for births or adoptions on or after 1 July 2026. Grieving parents who experience a stillbirth or infant death retain eligibility for these payments through Centrelink.

How to Request Leave

Send a written request to HR and your direct manager simultaneously. Include your child's name, date of death, the specific statutory provision you are invoking (if applicable), and your expected timeline. If you are too overwhelmed to write the email, your designated family spokesperson can send it on your behalf.

Keep a copy of every communication. If your employer pushes back on leave that you are legally entitled to, contact your state or national employment standards body for guidance.

The When Your Child Dies (Minor) guide includes template leave request letters for each jurisdiction, a comparison chart of statutory entitlements, and a return-to-work planning framework for when you are ready to go back.