A new family leave right is here. Explore Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave, including eligibility, employee protections, and employer best practice.

Published: 20 July 2026
Authors: Eliza Moore

Since 6 April 2026, bereaved partners of new parents have had a new statutory right to extended time off work.

Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave (BPPL) fills a longstanding gap in the family leave framework, providing statutory protection where a child’s primary carer dies within the first year of birth or adoption.

The law as it stands

BPPL is now in force under the Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026. It applies where an employee’s partner, who was the child’s “primary carer”, dies within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or adoption placement.

Key features of Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave

Who is eligible?

Eligible employees are entitled to BPPL from day one. An employee will be eligible where:

• the child’s primary carer has died within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or adoption placement

• the primary carer was:

  • the mother (in birth cases)
  • the adopter who was entitled to adoption leave
  • the primary parental order parent (in surrogacy arrangements)

• the employee was the child’s father, or the spouse, civil partner or partner of the primary carer at the relevant time

• the employee assumes main responsibility for bringing up the child and is taking the leave to care for them.

The right applies equally to same sex couples. Eligibility may also extend to separated partners where responsibility for the child remains with the employee.

Length and structure of leave

Eligible employees may take a single, continuous period of up to 52 weeks’ unpaid leave. The leave must be taken within a defined 52‑week “paternity leave eligibility period” running from the day after the child’s birth or adoption placement, although limited flexibility applies where the bereavement occurs close to the end of that period.

Pay during leave

There is no obligation on employers to provide pay during BPPL. However, employees who meet the qualifying criteria and have not already received it may claim up to two weeks’ statutory paternity pay while on BPPL.

Employers should consider whether to offer enhanced pay where enhanced family leave pay is already available.

Employment protections

As with other family‑related statutory leave, employees on BPPL benefit from the full suite of statutory protections, including:

• preservation of terms and conditions (other than pay)
• accrual of statutory holiday
• protection from detriment and automatic unfair dismissal
• enhanced redundancy protection, including priority for suitable alternative employment
• the right to return to the same job or a suitable alternative role.

Employees may also undertake up to ten keeping‑in‑touch days during BPPL, without ending leave.

Notice and practical operation

The notice regime is deliberately flexible, recognising that bereavement is often sudden. Where BPPL starts within eight weeks of the bereavement, notice can be given orally or in writing and leave can start immediately. Further information, including the intended return date, can then be confirmed in writing.

For leave starting more than eight weeks after the bereavement, at least one week’s written notice is required. Employees can change or cancel leave, subject to further notice rules. Employers should adopt a pragmatic, flexible and sensitive approach.

Interaction with other family leave

BPPL sits alongside, rather than replaces, existing rights such as paternity leave, shared parental leave, parental leave and time off for dependants. Employers should understand how these entitlements interact, as employees may have a choice of which route to take.

Why this matters for employers

While cases are likely to be infrequent, the legal, reputational and cultural risks are significant.

Common pitfalls include mischaracterising BPPL as requiring service, applying inflexible notice requirements, or defaulting to standard paternity or bereavement processes.

How an organisation responds can have a lasting impact on employee trust and workplace culture.

What employers should be doing now

• review and update policies - Family leave and bereavement policies should clearly reflect BPPL as a standalone statutory entitlement. Policies should be aligned, accessible and avoid inadvertently creating barriers through overly prescriptive processes.
• equip managers to respond appropriately - Line managers are often the first point of contact. Targeted guidance and training can help ensure they understand the entitlement, the absence of service requirements and the need for consistency, discretion and empathy.
• take a joined‑up approach to support - BPPL should be considered alongside wider benefits and wellbeing support, including paid bereavement leave, flexible working options and employee assistance programmes.

How we can help

We support employers on managing sensitive family leave rights in practice, including updating policies, training managers and supporting HR teams through complex or high‑risk cases.

If you would like to discuss how Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave applies in your organisation or sense‑check your current approach in light of the new regime, our employment team would be happy to help.