Benjamin Franklin was right when he said: "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
When a death occurs it is always a sad time for those that have known the deceased and many people will naturally wish to attend the funeral to pay their respects. Doing so can result in the need to take time off work.
Employees tend to expect that if they request time off work to attend a funeral that this should not only be granted, but that they should also be paid. Peter-Jon Chalmers, Director of Empire HR, says this is not necessarily the case.
PETER-JON CHALMERS
“Many companies are sympathetic and allow their employees paid time off to attend the funeral of close friends as well as relatives,” he explains, “but this is not something that they have to do.
“The law only allows employees the right to take unpaid time off to arrange or attend a dependant’s funeral. A dependant is defined as being the employee’s spouse, child or parent.
“It can also include someone who lives in the same household as the employee. This could be a partner or elderly relative.
“Paid time off is at the company’s discretion.”
Most companies do allow employees reasonable paid time off to attend the funeral of a close relative but company policies vary considerably when dealing with non-relatives.
According to Peter-Jon employers should ensure that their company handbook contains a policy statement on this subject.
“Incorporating a statement on time off for funerals within the company handbook should remove any ambiguity as to when time off is likely to be permitted. It should also serve to provide clarity on whether the time off is likely to be paid or not.
“Death is obviously an extremely emotive subject. By ensuring that the company handbook provides clear information in relation to the policy on time off for funerals, employers are doing their bit to make this difficult time as straightforward as possible for the affected employee.”
Empire HR provides commercially focused employment law and HR support service, including a telephone advice line, HR consultancy, employment tribunal insurance and health & safety support for businesses across Scotland.
Empire HR can be contacted on 01224 701383 or at info@empirehr.com.
