The need to re-think bereavement policies

It’s been a month since we bid farewell to the beautiful Rebecca Zammit Lupi.

She touched so many hearts, and there are no words that can start to define the sorrow that her parents and loved ones feel. We can only hope that some day they will manage to find solace in their heart, knowing that she touched the lives of many.

Rebecca’s story got me thinking about bereavement leave. Whilst parental leave is a common topic of discussion, it is not often that we discuss other types of leave, such as bereavement leave.

When an employee experiences the loss of a loved one, they are entitled to special leave. The conditions for this leave are set by the Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations. According to the regulations, “‘bereavement leave’ means leave to be granted to the employee without loss of wages on the occasion of the death of the spouse, parent, son, daughter, brother, or sister of the employee, and includes a person who has, or in the past had, legal custody of the employee, or a person who is in the legal custody of the employee”.

Under this regulation, the employee is entitled to one single working day. For some industries which are regulated by a Wage Regulation Order, employees might be entitled to an extra day or two.

But surely we will all agree that this is way too little.

Whilst the pain of losing a loved one cannot be quantified surely we must try to improve our legislation to be more empathetic towards those going through such situations.

Taking a look at the UK as an example, the conditions set seem far more sufficient. First off, the legislation makes a distinction between bereavement leave and parental bereavement leave.

In the UK, parental bereavement leave (PBL) is set as “a period of one or two weeks leave that may be taken at any time within 56 weeks of the death of a child.” A child is anyone under 18 and includes a baby that is stillborn after at least 24 weeks of pregnancy. In the event of a stillbirth or a neonatal death, existing rights to maternity and paternity leave are also preserved. This type of leave may be taken as one whole week, two consecutive weeks, or two separate weeks at different times. The parents have 56 weeks in which to take this Parental Bereavement Leave, and this is so as to enable employees to take their second week of leave around the anniversary of the child’s death, should they wish to do so. This particular clause, I feel, is very important, for it acknowledges other periods that can be particularly agonizing for parents who have lost their child. It allows parents to decide what works best in their personal circumstances.

In addition to changes in legislation, employers should be supplied with resources that guide them on how to assist employees during bereavement. This should include advice on how to have a conversation about the matter with the employee in question and how to notify other colleagues, keeping in time the right time and appropriate manner to do so.

Bereavement is very personal – it is dealt with differently by each individual, and this must be respected by employers and society at large. The uniqueness of the matter must remain at the core of any policies or recommendations. This is why it is vital for the employer to have an open dialogue with the employee, to understand the best way to deal with the situation, that allows the employee to deal with the loss of their loved one, for the continuation of work and an understanding from the rest of the team.

In Malta, we need to start a discussion about legislation regarding bereavement leave, through consultations with those that can provide insights from the perspective of all stakeholders - psychologists, people who have experienced such loss, employers and lawyers, among others.

Many companies have introduced voluntary leave banks – an initiative through which employees can donate unused paid leave to colleagues dealing with personal emergencies. The benefits of such initiatives are threefold - they give the opportunity of more time off to those who need it, provide a sense of community between employees and reduces the financial load on employers. This is a step in the right direction, but we must seek other ways that ensure the well-being of employees going through a personal trauma.

Aside from employment legislation, we need to think about procedures that parents going through such an ordeal need to attend to. As brought to light by Rebecca’s father, unmarried young girls who pass away had to be marked as “spinster” on the Public Registry forms that are filled by their next of kin. This is truly unfitting and degrading. Thankfully, a change was made shortly after this was made public.

We must continue to speak up, and to consult. It will not heal the pain of those who have lost their loved ones, but it will surely prevent unnecessary complications from lack of support and understanding.