Compassionate- Bereavement Leave

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to outline the provisions for granting compassionate leave.

[enter-your-company-name-here] is committed to ensuring the well-being of all employees, and will provide employees with leave entitlements for compassionate reasons during a time of loss of an immediate family member.

The provisions outlined in this document apply to all permanent full-time and part-time employees.

Policy

In situations where there has been a death of:

a spouse of the employee
a de-facto spouse
a child or an adult child (including an adopted child, a step child, a foster child or an ex-nuptial child)
a parent (including a foster parent and legal guardian)
a grandparent
a grandchild
a sibling
a same sex de facto partner
a relative of the employee who is a member of the same household (family group living in the same domestic dwelling)

Employees will be entitled to up to three days (or an alternate documented period) paid leave on any one occasion.

If the absence extends beyond three days, or if the funeral is not of a person who is a close relative, this will be considered personal time and will be treated as vacation time.

Under certain circumstances, exceptions to this policy such as an extended period of leave, may be considered by the Human Resources Department.

If an employee requires funeral leave, a telephone call to the direct supervisor is required by the first work day of absence.

Compassionate leave, granted for the death of any other persons other than close relatives, will be at the discretion of the employee’s Manager.

Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of Management and Supervisors to ensure that:

employees are familiar with their obligations and entitlements in accordance with this policy;
all applications for compassionate/bereavement leave are promptly processed for employees.

It is the responsibility of Employees to:

notify their immediate supervisor of any absence in accordance with this policy;
initiate leave applications for compassionate/bereavement leave by completing the appropriate documentation for approval.

Procedure

Wherever possible, employees are to notify the immediate Manager of any absences as soon as they are aware that they will not be able to attend work.

In all cases of notification, the employee is to specify the reason for, and the expected duration of the absence.

Upon receiving an application for compassionate leave, the employee’s Manager is required to forward their authorisation to Payroll for processing.

Tips

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Traps

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