Compassionate / Bereavement Leave
Did you know that Compassionate / Bereavement Leave should not be deducted from an employee's Personal Leave (or other leave) entitlements?
All employees are entitled to 2 days' compassionate leave each time an immediate family or household member dies or suffers a life-threatening illness or injury.
An employee does not accumulate compassionate leave and it doesn't come out of their sick and carer's leave (or annual leave) balance. It can be taken any time an employee needs it.
If an employee is already on another type of leave (eg. annual leave) and needs to take compassionate leave, the employee can use compassionate leave instead of the other leave.
So to be clear, it means that an employer must pay an employee for up to 2 days' each time they need to attend to an immediate family or householder because of life-threatening illness or injury; or due to their death, and it does not come out of any leave balance.
For further information, refer to the Fair Work Ombudsman website.
If you are unsure about how you should be paying your employees in a range of circumstances... we are here to help.
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