Bereaved employees are being forced to return to work before they’re ready, according to research from provider MetLife UK.
The survey found that 21 percent of employees felt that more time off work to grieve for a loved one would have helped them manage their loss. This is an increase from 15 percent who reported this in 2023.
Researchers asked 2,003 UK working adults who’ve experienced bereavement in the past two years about their experiences and what support they want from their employer.
More than half (55 percent) of employees said it took up to eight weeks to feel back to their usual self at work, while 13 percent said it took longer than this. However, average UK compassionate leave in the UK ranges between three and five working days.
Almost a fifth (17 percent) said that access to bereavement counselling through work would help them, with a further 15 percent reporting that practical support from their employer, such as help to contact accountants or to close the bank accounts of the deceased, would also be helpful. One in ten (12 percent) said they’d appreciate their employer’s support with funeral planning.
Charlotte O’Brien, head of employee benefits at MetLife UK, said: “We know that compassionate leave policies differ across the UK, with the average time given being between three and five days. Yet our research shows over half of the bereaved say it takes between one and eight weeks to feel like themselves at work. That’s 50 percent of your workers back in the workplace physically but not mentally; there is a clear disparity between what is given and what is needed. While there is nothing we can do about the length of compassionate leave in the UK, we can help change how supported workers are when they are naturally not themselves.
“Whether that’s offering counselling or easing the additional ‘workload’ they face with funeral planning and administration, we believe that Life Insurance is more than just paying a lump sum upon death – it’s about fully supporting workers when they are bereaved, time-poor and at a loss.”
Mark Wood, chairman of Everest, said: “The death of an employee is always a crisis. Our support and assistance removes the sudden complex and unfamiliar administrative burden which immediately follows an untimely bereavement allowing an unhurried time to grieve. Our services which are integral to MetLife’s Group Life cover tangibly demonstrate an employer’s care for their people at the most difficult of times.”
