Reasons why Employees should have Bereavement Rights
Death is the cessation of life and is something that everyone has to endure. Nevertheless, the death of a family member can be a traumatic experience for all those involved. Death could be a relief if the person was incapacitated and in great agony for a long time. At this time an employee close to this person needs to be with family and close friends.
There are some reasons why employees should havebereavementrights. An employee should be entitled to leave on a normal working day immediately following the day that death occurred. It should not be less than three working days if it is a close family member. Preparing for a funeral entails a lot of preparation. All employees should be entitled to bereavement rights whether their length of service is long or short. If the employee was with the company for a short time it could be unpaid leave.They should be paid for these days according to their length of service with the company. These conditions would not apply if the employee was away on vacation when the death of the relative occurred. If the employee has to travel out of town they should be granted more days of bereavement leave and these could be partially paid or unpaid according to the employee's length of service.
Giving an employee bereavement leave after the death of a relative gives them the time to grieve. If it is a parent of young children, the family has to get together to console the remaining parent. Some deaths are more traumatic than others, as in the case of a car, plane crash or a murdered victim. Bereavement leave at this time is good reason to show compassion and it should also be a basis right. The employee would like to know that their employer cares and wouldn't hesitate to do the right thing.
The family of a deceased person needs time to select a funeral director, especially if it was a sudden death. The arrangements for burial could continue for a few days. Family members may have to arrive from overseas to correlate relative business. At this time there may be some confusion and a lot of sadness. If an employee is refused bereavement leave during this period for some reason, they would be less productive and the ambiance of the workplace would suffer. This is one of the reasons why it is imperative that employees should have bereavement rights.
