Tag: bereavement

Helping Children Deal with Bereavement and Loss

Bereavement can occur without warning at any time of our lives and it’s important to understand how as a nanny, you can help the children in your care deal with the losses that they may face.

Loss can be exceptionally difficult for children to understand as they are not always able to process the emotions and thoughts that follow, which is why it’s important that children have a strong support network at times of great upset.

Bereavement can be the death of a loved one, a friend or a pet, it could also be the loss of someone close to them, which can often be a result of divorce or separation of a child’s parents.

To help you further help the children in your care deal with the losses they face, we’ve put together the following advice:

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Spotlight on Compassionate Leave

Recently we have received a couple of questions on our Facebook page from nannies who have sadly been bereaved and wanted to know what their rights were and what was normal for employers to offer.

As employees nannies are entitled to time off for dependants, which is unpaid, and exists to enable them to deal with emergencies such as arranging or going to funerals. Any member of their immediate family or someone living in their household is a dependant, but this can also extend to anyone who relies on your nanny for help in emergencies.

It is rare for nanny contracts to have a section which deals specifically with compassionate leave, although employment experts say that mentioning bereavement leave specifically in contracts has a positive impact on employer-employee relationships. In the absence of contractual arrangements paid time off is at the employer’s discretion, and you are expected to be reasonable and consistent in your handling of bereavement. Although paid time off will be appreciated as it removes concerns over finances from the equation it is more important to be sensitive and understanding to your nanny’s needs.

Time off around the death is of course only one aspect of bereavement. Grief can have a profound impact and significantly affect a nanny’s ability to do their job. A nanny who is suffering from grief may visit their GP and be signed off work. This is treated as normal sick leave and not compassionate leave. ACAS produce a comprehensive guide for employers on dealing with bereavement at work if you require further guidance.