Our Work
Our first campaign: paid bereavement leave
Time to Grieve began with a simple question: why is there no legal right to paid time off work when someone we love dies?
In the UK, there has historically been no general legal right to paid bereavement leave when an employee loses someone they love. Alice launched Time to Grieve to campaign for change, calling for a legal right to paid bereavement leave that would give grieving employees time away from work without the additional financial pressure of losing their income.
What began as a personal concern became a national campaign, combining Alice's lived experience of bereavement with her legal background and public platform.
Campaign at a glance
3,101
petition signatures
2
Government responses
10+
major media features
1
legal change now underway
1. The Petition
From December 2024 to June 2025, we ran a petition calling on the Government to introduce a legal right to paid bereavement leave.
We obtained 3,101 signatures and two written responses from the Government, but more importantly, we started the conversation on bereavement leave.
2. Taking the issue to Government
The campaign received two written responses from Government and helped bring the issue of bereavement rights into wider political and public discussion.
3. Raising Awareness
Through national and regional media, radio, podcasts and public speaking, Time to Grieve helped start conversations about what grieving people need from their employers and wider society.
4. Legislative Change
Change has begun.
Bereavement leave has now been introduced into the Employment Rights Bill, representing an important step towards stronger legal protection for people experiencing bereavement at work.
The right is currently anticipated to provide one week of bereavement leave, with further detail around implementation and whether the leave will be paid still to be determined.
The campaign helped bring attention to the issue at a time when bereavement rights were being considered more widely.