'There is an organisational cost if managers get it wrong', warns Brendan Barber
Acas has launched a best practice guide to help employers support bereaved employees at work, as the chair of the conciliation service Brendan Barber warned: “There is a cost if managers get it wrong.”
Commenting on the importance of good practice in this area, Barber said: “A compassionate and flexible approach to managing bereavement can show commitment from an employer.”
Robert Peston, BBC economics editor, said that the way his employer responded when his wife Sian Busby died two years ago had helped him cope.
“One of the things you learn quickly when you suffer a terrible blow is how badly we handle death as a society,” he said. “People just don’t know what to say or how to react.”
He said that one of the most helpful things people could do when someone loses a loved one is to offer emotional and practical support.
“I was lucky because the BBC is a sensible and sensitive employer. They talked to me about what I needed. I was able to do a lot of my writing and radio work from home, which was terribly important to me.”
Earlier this year, research from the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) revealed that half of workers would leave an employer that failed to support them after the death of someone close.
The NCPC research also found that a third of employees who had suffered bereavement in the past five years felt that they had not been treated with compassion by their employer. And nearly nine out of 10 people believed all employers should have a compassionate employment policy that included paid bereavement leave.
Debbie Kerslake, chief executive of Cruse Bereavement Care, said: “When people suffer a bereavement their emotions are all over the place, it can be hard to concentrate and life can feel like it has no meaning. They can become overcome with anxiety and fatigue and mood swings. Their life may change as they may be caring for a child or a parent.”
She said it was important for managers to handle the situation well because “you never forget how you were treated after the death of a loved one”.
Kerslake added: “Being a caring and compassionate manager is the right thing to do. It helps improve productivity, morale and loyalty to the organisation. It reduces turnover and sickness absence. It’s right but also makes economic sense.” She urged employers to think about whether their HR team and line managers had the confidence to manage bereavement and encouraged them to look at their policies on this.
The Acas 'Managing bereavement in the workplace - a good practice guide' was developed in partnership with Cruse Bereavement Care, bereavement leave campaigner Lucy Herd, Eversheds, Dying Matters Coalition; as well as CBI, FSB and EEF.