Does your company have a funeral leave policy?

Our company used to have a 3 day cap for bereavement for each year, and employees were required to use their leave. Now, employees are still required to use vacation or sick leave for funeral/bereavement purposes, but they are no longer capped at 3 days per year.

The bereavement leave policy for my organization is very generous.

Employees will be provided up to five (5) regularly scheduled work days of paid leave for the death of a spouse, child (natural or step), and parents (natural or step);

Three (3) work days for grandparents, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchildren, brother, sister, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, step-brother, or step-sister;

Employees will be provided one (1) day of paid leave for the death of a brother-in- law, sister-in-law, aunt and uncle.
Employees will be provided one (1) day of paid leave for the death of a spouse’s brother, sister, brother-in- law, sister-in-law, grandparent, aunt and uncle.

We are a multi-hospital healthcare company. I copied this straight from our policy.

“Bereavement leave is available to full-time employees who have completed their initial ninety (90) day employment period. Employees will be granted time off with pay if a death occurs in their immediate family. “Immediate family” is defined as spouse, son, daughter, parent, brother, sister, parent-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, step-brother, step-sister, step-child, or legal guardian. Management has the right to request verification of the need for bereavement leave before pay will be released.

Paid bereavement leave will be provided for up to twenty-four (24) hours. Payroll records should be submitted by the department which indicates the number of hours and the type of leave, i.e. “bereavement leave – family member being recognized” (Example: 8 hours – bereavement leave – grandfather). When the needs of the department permit, supervisors are encouraged to grant employees additional time off using accrued paid time off (PTO) or time off without pay (if employee has no PTO balance) to extend the bereavement period.”

My company allows 3 consecutive scheduled days of paid time off for immediate family. Hourly associates are eligible after completing the 90-day waiting period following date of hire. Salaried associates are eligible for the date of hire. For non-immediate family we are allowed to us personal/vacation or unpaid time off provided it is approved by the associate’s manager.
Immediate Family: Spouse, Child, Stepchild, Mother and Father, Stepmother and Stepfather, Brother and Sister, Half Brother and Half Sister, Stepbrother and Stepsister, Grandmother and Grandfather, Grandchild, Son-in-law and Daughter-in-law, Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law, same or opposite sex Domestic Partner, and the Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, and Child of the Domestic Partner.

We generously allow Full time employees to take 5 days paid for the death of an immediate family member (spouse, parent, brother, sister, children, grandchild, grandparent, parent-in-law, brother/sister-in-law)
Full time employees may take one paid day to attend the funeral of an aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.
Requests for bereavement must be made known to a supervisor ASAP.
Part time employees are not entitled to any paid time off.

From the policy manual: “… 3 days of leave for the death in the employee’s immediate family. An immediate family member is considered to be an employee’s household members, spouse, domestic partner, child, grandchild, parent, sibling, spouse of sibling, grandparent, or the spouse’s or domestic partner’s parent or sibling. Bereavement Leave for a death involving a family member other than those listed above must be approved by the Vice President/Director of Human Resources and is generally limited to one day. A staff member may request PTO if additional time off is required.”

In the event of a death in the employee’s immediate family (spouse, child, step-child, parent, step-parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother or sister)our bereavement policy allows for 3 days off, one of which must be the day of the funeral. If circumstances require travel over a distance of 300 miles one-way an additional 2 days are allowed.

Here is our Bereavement Leave Policy Overview:
Regular full- and part-time employees scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week may be granted, with manager approval, one to three paid days of bereavement leave for close family members.

Depending on the circumstances, you may qualify for additional time off using PTO days with approval from your manager and Human Resources.

Procedures:
To attend the funeral of a close family member, notify your manager as soon as possible.

If additional time off is needed, work with your manager to take unused PTO days, if eligible.

Depending on the circumstances, Assurance may request information about the funeral services.

1. The company will pay up to three consecutive scheduled days before or after the date of death to include the date of the bereavement, not to exceed twenty four (24) hours for the death of a spouse, child, parent, brother or sister.

2.The company will pay up to two consecutive scheduled days before or after the date of death to include the date of the bereavement, not to exceed sixteen (16) hours for the death of a grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, step-grandparent, spouses’ grandparent, step-mother, step-father, step-brother, step-sister & step-child.

The only problem I have with our funeral policy is that I am not close to with my dad; however I am close with my step-dad. So, I get three days for someone I haven’t talked to in over 3 years but for my step-dad whom I talk to all the time I only get two days. It’s still better than nothing though.

Taken straight from our Personnel Policy Manual:

“When specifically authorized by an employee’s supervisor, he/she may be granted bereavement leave for the following purposes:

• Death of an immediate family member of the employee or the employee’s spouse.

Employees may utilize up to (3) days of un-chargeable bereavement leave due to death of an immediate family member. Immediate family members are defined as a legal spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild, or the employee’s current mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law. Accrued leave may be approved in the event of the death of a relative not a member of the immediate family as defined above. If there is insufficient sick leave, the time taken will be charged against earned vacation time.”

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