Dealing with the death of a child is a traumatic time for parents therefore ‘Jack’s Law’ will provide a statutory framework to help employers and HR departments provide a more structured and supportive way to help employees deal with the devastating loss of a child.
Parents who suffer the loss of a child will be entitled to two weeks’ paid statutory leave under this new legislation known as ‘Jack’s Law’. “Jack’s Law” is named after the 23-month-old Jack Herd who died in 2010. The new regulations come under the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 as the UK becomes the first country to introduce this as law.
From 6 April 2020, all employees who lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy will be entitled to 2 weeks’ statutory leave. This leave can be taken in either:
Employees who have at least 26 weeks’ employment who meet minimum earnings criteria, will qualify for Statutory Paid Parental Bereavement Leave. This payment is at the same rate as Statutory Paternity Pay.
Entitlement must be taken within 56 weeks, starting with the date of the child’s death. It can start on any day of the week. And, if the loss of more than one child is experienced the entitlement is granted for each child.
The employee must provide evidence of entitlement in writing. This should include a written declaration that the person meets the qualifying conditions for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay including details of:
Payment will be calculated at the statutory payment rate in force for the year (currently £148.68 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings if less). Increases are applied each tax year in line with other statutory parental payments.
Only parents employed for six months or more will be eligible to claim statutory pay for this period.