One of our employees has gone off work as her husband died suddenly a few weeks ago. What should we do in this instance and is it appropriate to ask her when she will be returning? We have no policies in place for bereavement?
Posted in : First Tuesday Q&A ROI on 3 June 2015
Zelda Cunningham
Arthur Cox
There is no legal entitlement to compassionate leave in Ireland. The right to take this type of leave is most commonly addressed in the employee's contract of employment or in the company’s handbook. Failing this, it is likely that a policy or custom and practice of taking compassionate leave will have developed informally in the company. If such a practice has developed in the company, precedent should be followed in terms of the nature of the compassionate leave afforded to this employee, i.e. its duration and whether she is paid for the leave or not.
Bereavement is an occasion which calls for the employer to exercise sensitivity on a case-by-case basis. Even if a company has an express
Already a subscriber?
Click here to login and access the full article.
Log in now to read the full articleDon't miss out, start your free trial today!
Are you fully aware of the benefits of Legal-Island's Irish Employment Law Hub? We help thousands of people like you understand how the latest changes in Irish employment law impact your business through a mix of case law analysis and in-depth articles. All delivered right to your inbox.
We help you to understand the ramifications of each important case from Ireland and Europe.
We help you ensure that your organisation's policies and procedures are fully compliant with Irish law.
You will receive regular updates on Irish employment law including case law reviews, legislative changes, topical updates as well as answers to your burning questions through our Q&A feature.
You will have 24/7 access to the Employment Law Hub so you can research case law and HR issues when you need to.
Back to Q&A's This article is correct at 02/09/2015
Disclaimer:
The information in this article is provided as part of Legal-Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article.
Zelda Cunningham
Arthur Cox
The main content of this article was provided by Zelda Cunningham. Contact telephone number is +353 1 618 0000 or email zelda.cunningham@arthurcox.com
View all articles by Zelda Cunningham