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Employee Benefits and HR Guidance for Carers, Bereavement, and Working Parents 

Your employees will experience significant life events throughout their time with your company

Whether it's becoming a parent or caring for a loved one, these moments often bring urgent questions, such as:

  • “Will my employer truly understand what I’m going through?”

  • “Do I have the right benefits and support in place?”

How your benefits and HR policies respond during these critical times shapes the very culture of your workplace. We’re here to help.

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Discover practical strategies to support employees through life’s key moments

Working carers: essential employer tips

Caring for children, aging relatives, or family friends can be deeply rewarding, but employees balancing work alongside caring responsibilities may also experience additional pressure. Without appropriate support, this can affect wellbeing, health, and work performance.

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Employee bereavement: navigating with support and compassion

When an employee experiences bereavement, the impact may affect emotional wellbeing, concentration, and day-to-day functioning. Employers should aim to create a supportive environment where employees feel able to raise concerns if they wish. 

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Working parents and modern families: practical considerations for success

Working parents and caregivers are balancing more than ever, and their needs can change significantly over time. That is why effective employer support needs to be practical, inclusive, and adaptable.

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Moving home: practical employer considerations

Moving home can be an exciting milestone, but it may also be a stressful period for employers. How employers response during this time may affect the employee experience and overall wellbeing

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How we can help

We offer benefits reviews and benchmarking to provide clear insights and strategies that strengthen your benefits and HR policies. Our goal is to help you support employees through life’s key moments with consistency, compassion, and clarity

Frequently asked questions

Every employee has the legal entitlement to ask for flexible working. They can request adjustments to their working hours, their start or finish times, the days they work, or their work location. This process is called submitting a 'statutory application'. Employees are eligible to submit a flexible working request from the very first day of their employment.

Source: Gov.UK

Employees have a statutory right to 2 weeks' Parental Bereavement Leave if a child dies under 18 or is stillborn after 24 weeks. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay applies if eligibility criteria are met. For other bereavements, there is no statutory paid leave, but employees have a right to reasonable unpaid time off for dependants in emergencies.

Sources: Gov.UK, ACAS

From April 6, 2024, employees have a day-one right to up to one week of unpaid Carer's Leave per year to care for a dependant with a long-term care need. Additionally, employees have a right to reasonable unpaid time off for dependants in emergencies and can request flexible working.

Sources: Gov.UK, ACAS

In our experience employers commonly offer paid compassionate leave beyond statutory minimums, access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), counselling services, flexible working arrangements, and phased return-to-work options.

In our experience unpaid carers value flexible working, paid carer’s leave, access to support networks, counselling/ EAP services, manager understanding and training, and clear policies recognising their dual roles.
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