Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and Leave

Cancelling your leave or pay

You can change your mind and cancel your Parental Bereavement Leave or Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay if you have given your employer more than the required notice for either taking leave or claiming pay.

To cancel your Parental Bereavement Leave or Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, you’ll need to tell your employer. When you need to tell them depends on when your leave or pay is due to start.

Parental Bereavement Leave

If your leave is due to start within 8 weeks of the death or stillbirth, you must let your employer know about the cancellation no later than the time you would normally start work on the first day of planned leave.

If your leave is due to start 9 weeks or later after the death or stillbirth, you must let your employer know no later than one week before the start of the planned leave.

If you cancel your leave, you can rebook it if you give your employer the correct notice.

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

If your pay was due to start within 8 weeks of the child’s death or stillbirth, you must give your employer notice on the first day of the week you want to cancel.

If your pay was due to start 9 weeks or later after the child’s death or stillbirth, you must tell your employer you want to cancel one week before your pay was due to start.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Step 1 Register the death
1. Register the death within 5 days
Check what to do if:
Step 2 Tell government about the death
The Tell Us Once service allows you to inform all the relevant government departments when someone dies.
1. Use the Tell Us Once service to tell government
2. If you cannot use Tell Us Once, tell government yourself
You'll also need to tell banks, utility companies, and landlords or housing associations yourself.
Step 3 Arrange the funeral
Step 4 Check if you can get bereavement benefits
You might be eligible for financial help.

Check if you can get:
and Deal with your own benefits, pension and taxes
Your tax, benefit claims and pension might change depending on your relationship with the person who died.
1. Manage your tax, pensions and benefits if your partner has died
2. Check how benefits are affected if a child dies
and Find bereavement support and services
Get help with managing grief and the things you need to do when someone dies.
1. Find bereavement help and support
2. Find bereavement services from your local council
and Check if you need to apply to stay in the UK
If your right to live in the UK depends on your relationship with someone who died you might need to apply for a new visa.

Check the rules if:
- you're in the UK as the partner of a British Citizen or someone with indefinite leave to remain
- your partner who died served as a member of HM Forces
1. Contact UKVI to check the rules for other visas
Step 5 Value the estate and check if you need to pay Inheritance Tax
To find out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay, you need to estimate the value of the property, money and possessions (the ‘estate’) of the person who died.
1. Estimate the value of the estate to find out if you need to pay Inheritance Tax
1. Find out how to report the value of the estate
1. Pay Inheritance Tax if it’s due
Step 6 Apply for probate
You might need to apply for probate before you can deal with the property, money and possessions (the ‘estate’) of the person who died.
1. Check if you need to apply for probate
1. Apply for probate
Step 7 Deal with the estate
Pay any debts or taxes owed by the person who's died. You can then distribute the estate as set out in the will or the law.
1. Deal with the estate
1. Update property records