Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

Decide leave and pay separately

Parental Bereavement Leave is a day-one employee right, but statutory pay has its own conditions. Start by confirming the person and loss fall within the current local rules, then make a separate payroll decision. A leave approval does not prove that pay is due. Some agency and casual workers can qualify for SPBP without having the corresponding employee leave right; use the employment-type guidance for those cases.

In Great Britain, the employee normally needs the required continuous employment and average weekly earnings by the relevant week. They must remain employed until the qualifying bereavement and give the correct notice and declaration. The GOV.UK eligibility guide covers parents, partners, adopters, intended parents and some people with day-to-day responsibility.

Apply the Northern Ireland rules on their own terms

Northern Ireland changed its scheme for losses occurring or discovered from 6 April 2026. It covers specified miscarriages before 24 weeks as well as a child's death and stillbirth, and its pay conditions no longer mirror the Great Britain service and actual-earnings tests. Use the current nidirect guidance for the loss, relationship, expected-earnings, notice and declaration rules.

Keep the process quiet and exact

SPBP can cover one or two weeks, taken together or separately within the permitted period. Each qualifying week pays 90% of average weekly earnings up to the statutory weekly cap. Check the live cap rather than typing it into a policy.

Ask only for the declaration and information the scheme requires. Keep the relationship, date, jurisdiction, leave weeks, pay calculation and notice together, with access limited to the people who need it. The eligibility guide should be the final check before payroll is confirmed.