The Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
2020 No. 249
Terms And Conditions Of Employment
The Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020
Made 9th March 2020
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 47C(1), (2) and (4), 80EA(1) to (8), 80EB(1), (4) and (5), 80EC, 80ED and 99 of the Employment Rights Act 19961, makes the following Regulations.
In accordance with section 236(3) of the Employment Rights Act 19962, a draft of this instrument has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
PART 1
GENERAL
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020 and come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.
Application
2. These Regulations apply in respect of children who die on or after 6th April 2020.
Interpretation
3. In these Regulations—
“the 1996 Act” means the Employment Rights Act 1996;
“adopter” means a person who intends to adopt C;
“C” means the child in relation to whom an entitlement to parental bereavement leave arises;
“intended parent” means a person who—
(a) has applied, or intended to apply during the period of 6 months beginning with the day of C’s birth—
(i) with another person for an order under section 54 (parental orders: two applicants) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 20083in respect of C, or
(ii) as the sole applicant for an order under section 54A (parental orders: one applicant) of that Act4in respect of C, and
(b) expected the court to make such an order on that application in respect of C;
“official notification” means written notification, issued by or on behalf of the relevant domestic authority, that it is prepared to issue a certificate to the overseas authority concerned with the adoption of C, or has issued a certificate and sent it to that authority, confirming, in either case, that the adopter is eligible to adopt and has been assessed and approved as being a suitable adoptive parent;
“parental bereavement leave” means leave under regulation 4;
“placed for adoption” means placed—
(a) for adoption under the Adoption and Children Act 20025or the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 20076,
(b) in accordance with section 22C of the Children Act 19897(ways in which looked after children are to be accommodated and maintained) with a local authority foster parent who is also a prospective adopter, following consideration in accordance with subsection (9B)(c) of that section8, or
(c) in accordance with section 81 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 20149with a prospective adopter, following consideration in accordance with subsection (10) of that section;
“prospective adopter” means a person who has been approved as suitable to adopt a child and has been notified of that decision in accordance with regulation 30B(4) of the Adoption Agencies Regulations 200510or regulation 28(3) of the Adoption Agencies (Wales) Regulations 200511;
“relevant domestic authority” means—
(a) in the case of an adopter to whom Part 3 of the Adoptions with a Foreign Element Regulations 200512apply and who is habitually resident in Wales, the National Assembly for Wales,
(b) in the case of an adopter to whom the Adoptions with a Foreign Element (Scotland) Regulations 200913apply and who is habitually resident in Scotland, the Scottish Ministers, and
(c) in any other case, the Secretary of State;
“statutory leave” means leave provided for in Part 8 of the 1996 Act.
PART 2
ENTITLEMENT TO PARENTAL BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
Entitlement to parental bereavement leave
4.—(1) An employee is entitled to be absent from work to take parental bereavement leave if he or she—
(a)
(a) satisfies one of the conditions specified in paragraph (2), and
(b)
(b) complies with the notice requirements in regulation 6.
(2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are that, at the date of C’s death, the employee is—
(a)
(a) C’s parent;
(b)
(b) C’s natural parent and named in an order made pursuant to section 51A(2)(a) of the Adoption and Children Act 200214or section 11(3)(aa) of the Children (Scotland) Act 199515, provided that such an order has not subsequently been revoked or discharged;
(c)
(c) a person with whom C has been placed for adoption, for so long as that placement has not been disrupted, as mentioned in paragraph (3);
(d)
(d) an adopter—
(i) with whom C was living, following C’s entry into Great Britain from outside the United Kingdom in connection with or for the purposes of adoption which does not involve the placement of C for adoption under the law of any part of the United Kingdom, and
(ii) who has received official notification in respect of C;
(e)
(e) an intended parent of C;
(f)
(f) C’s parent in fact; or
(g)
(g) the partner of P.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(c), a placement has been disrupted—
(a)
(a) when C has been returned under sections 31 to 35 of the Adoption and Children Act 200216,
(b)
(b) in Scotland, when C has been returned to the adoption agency, adoption society or nominated person in accordance with section 25(6) of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, or
(c)
(c) when C’s placement—
(i) with a local authority foster parent who is also a prospective adopter in accordance with section 22C of the Children Act 1989 following consideration in accordance with subsection (9B)(c) of that section, or
(ii) with a prospective adopter in accordance with section 81 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014,
has been terminated.
(4) Subject to paragraph (6), a person is C’s parent in fact if that person, for a continuous period of at least four weeks ending with the day on which C dies—
(a)
(a) lived with C in the person’s own home, and
(b)
(b) had day to day responsibility for C’s care.
(5) For the purposes of the continuous period mentioned in paragraph (4), no account is to be taken of any absences of a temporary or intermittent nature.
(6) A person is not to be regarded as C’s parent in fact if—
(a)
(a) C is in the care of that person in premises in which any parent of C’s, or any person who is not a parent of C’s but who has responsibility for C, is living, or
(b)
(b) that person was or is entitled to receive remuneration, whether by way of wages or otherwise, in respect of the care of C.
(7) A person has responsibility for C, for the purposes of paragraph (6)(a), if the person—
(a)
(a) has parental responsibility, within the meaning of section 3 of the Children Act 1989, or
(b)
(b) in Scotland, has parental responsibilities or parental rights, within the meaning of sections 1 and 2 of the Children (Scotland) Act 199517.
(8) For the purposes of paragraph (6)(b), the following payments are not to be regarded as remuneration—
(a)
(a) any fee or allowance paid by a local authority to a foster parent;
(b)
(b) payments wholly or mainly intended to reimburse the person for expenses which arise from, or are expected to arise from, the person’s care of C;
(c)
(c) amounts received pursuant to the terms of a will, trust or similar instrument which makes provision in respect of C’s care.
(9) In this regulation—
(a)
(a) “P” means any person who satisfies one of the conditions in paragraph (2)(a) to (f);
(b)
(b) “partner” means a person (whether of a different sex or the same sex) who lives with C and P in an enduring family relationship but is not a relative of P of a kind specified in sub-paragraph (c);
(c)
(c) the relatives of P referred to in sub-paragraph (b) are P’s parent, grandparent, sister, brother, aunt or uncle;
(d)
(d) references to relationships in sub-paragraph (c)—
(i) are to relationships of the full blood or half blood or, in the case of an adopted person, such of those relationships as would exist but for the adoption, and
(ii) include the relationship of a child with his adoptive, or former adoptive, parents,
but do not include any other adoptive relationships.
(10) Where an employee is eligible to take parental bereavement leave under this regulation as a result of the death of more than one child, the employee is entitled to parental bereavement leave in respect of each child.
Options in respect of parental bereavement leave
5.—(1) The minimum period of parental bereavement leave which may be taken by an employee is one week.
(2) An employee may choose to take either one or two weeks’ parental bereavement leave.
(3) Where an employee chooses to take two weeks’ parental bereavement leave, the weeks need not be consecutive.
(4) Parental bereavement leave may be taken at any time within the period of 56 weeks beginning with the date of C’s death.
(5) Paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of this regulation are subject to regulation 8.
Notice requirements for parental bereavement leave
6.—(1) An employee must give his or her employer notice of his or her intention to take any absence from work as parental bereavement leave specifying—
(a)
(a) the date of C’s death,
(b)
(b) the date on which the employee chooses any period of absence to begin, and
(c)
(c) whether the employee intends that period of absence to be a period of one or two weeks’ parental bereavement leave.
(2) Where any week which an employee intends to be treated as parental bereavement leave begins within Period A, notice provided for in paragraph (1) must be given to the employer—
(a)
(a) before the employee is due to start work on the employee’s first day of absence from work in that week, or
(b)
(b) in a case where it is not reasonably practicable for the employee to give notice in accordance with sub-paragraph (a), as soon as is reasonably practicable.
(3) Where any week which an employee intends to be treated as parental bereavement leave begins within Period B,...
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