Bereavement Leave: Proposed Legislation Explained

A bill introducing a right to bereavement leave was submitted this summer. We will briefly outline the plans in this blog. 

The current situation
The Dutch Work and Care Act (Wet arbeid en zorg) currently only provides for paid leave for the day of death and the day of the funeral of an employee’s housemate or relative by blood or marriage in the direct line (grandparent, parent, child, grandchild, etc.) or in the second degree of the collateral line (brother and sister). There are no arrangements for the period after the funeral. Employers are often advised to provide adequate assistance to grieving employees, because grief can lead to sick leave.        

The plans
The proposed leave arrangement is intended for a specific target group: families with one or more minor children where a parent or child dies. The purpose of the bill is to reduce long-term sick leave and promote a return to work.

Minimum of five bereavement days
Under the proposed arrangement, the parent in this situation can claim a statutory minimum of five bereavement days (for a full-time employee) with the employer continuing to pay the salary. Leave days can be taken from the day of the funeral up to one year after the death of the loved one.

Notification requirement
The employee must notify the employer in advance of their intention to take leave days (stating the reason and probable duration and how the leave is to be taken). Leave will be granted according to the employee’s wishes. Notices can take any form and may therefore also be given verbally.

Compelling business or service interests of the employer
The employer may only refuse the leave if it informs the employee, immediately on being notified, that there are “compelling business or service interests” which mean that the employee’s interest must, in all reasonableness, give way to them.

The target group
The proposed leave arrangement only applies to parents with minor children. The proposers opted for this because of this vulnerable target group’s need for an arrangement like this and to reduce implementation costs for employers.

The arrangement is also framed as a minimum standard, meaning that employees’ and employers’ organizations may agree on more extensive leave arrangements.

The bill is currently before the Dutch House of Representatives for consideration.

Read this blogpost in Dutch here.