# A dental nurse's child has died: two weeks of parental bereavement leave from day one, pay of £194.32 or 90%, and the 56-week window, worked

> Parental bereavement leave is two weeks from day one; pay is £194.32 or 90% of earnings if lower, after 26 weeks. The 28-day claim and 56-week dates worked.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/clinics/dental-nurse-child-dies-parental-bereavement-leave-two-weeks-day-one-pay-194-32-56-weeks-worked/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Dental, physio and aesthetics clinics, Running the practice
- Published 21 October 2026
- Key fact: For a death on Wednesday 6 January 2027, the 8-week and 56-week dates are 3 March 2027 and 2 February 2028. A claim for the week starting Monday 11 January 2027 must be made by 8 February 2027. Pay is £194.32 once weekly earnings reach £215.91 (194.32 / 0.9); at £150 it is £135.00 and at £200 it is £180.00. Two full weeks at the cap are 2 x £194.32 = £388.64. The earnings test of £129 a week over 8 weeks is £1,032 in total.
- Sources: GOV.UK, "Parental Bereavement Pay and Leave" (https://www.gov.uk/parental-bereavement-pay-leave) and its sub-pages "What you're entitled to", "Check if you're eligible" and "How to claim". They say the leave is 2 weeks per child from the first day of employment, taken together or as two separate weeks or one week, finishing within 56 weeks; pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower; pay needs 26 weeks' employment up to the end of the relevant week and average earnings of £129 a week over 8 weeks; notice is before the usual start time on the first day for leave taken in the first 8 weeks and at least one week's notice after that; no proof of the death is needed; pay must be asked for within 28 days. Read 21 October 2026.

Nobody wants a checklist on the day this happens. But the practice manager still has to get two things right: the nurse must not be pushed for paperwork, and the practice must not get the pay or the dates wrong. GOV.UK sets out the rules in plain terms.

## What GOV.UK says

- **Who.** An employee whose child dies before they turn 18, or who has a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. The employee can be the parent or the partner of the child's or baby's parent. There is a second route where the child lived with the employee at home for 4 continuous weeks ending with the date of death.
- **Leave.** Two weeks for each child, from the first day of employment: it does not matter how long the person has worked there. It can be taken as two weeks together, as two separate weeks, or as one week only. A week is the number of days the person normally works.
- **The window.** Leave can start on or after the date of the death and must finish within 56 weeks of it. If another statutory leave interrupts it, the rest can be taken afterwards, still inside the 56 weeks.
- **Notice.** For leave starting in the first 8 weeks, the employee gives notice before the normal start time on the first day of leave. For leave later in the 56 weeks, at least one week's notice before the week starts. The employer should be told the date of the death, when leave starts, and whether one or two weeks are taken. Notice can be spoken or electronic.
- **Proof.** The page says the employee does not need to give proof of the death or stillbirth.
- **Pay.** Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, paid like wages with tax and National Insurance taken off.
- **Who gets pay.** The employee must have been employed for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the "relevant week" (the Saturday-ending week before the week of the death), still be employed on the date of the death, and earn on average at least £129 a week gross over an 8-week period.
- **Claiming pay.** Ask within 28 days of the first day of the week claimed. Each claim is in writing and gives the name, the dates claimed and the date of the death; the eligibility declaration is made once, at the first claim.
- **Northern Ireland.** For a bereavement on or after 6 April 2026 the eligibility rules differ for employees in Northern Ireland, and GOV.UK points to nidirect.

## The sums

**The dates.** Take a death on Wednesday 6 January 2027.

| Point | Date | How I got it |
|---|---|---|
| Leave may start | 6 January 2027 | the day of the death, or later |
| End of the first 8 weeks | 3 March 2027 | 6 January plus 56 days |
| Last day the leave must be finished by | 2 February 2028 | 6 January 2027 plus 56 weeks (392 days) |
| Pay claim deadline for the week starting Monday 11 January 2027 | 8 February 2027 | 11 January plus 28 days |

I counted by calendar days. GOV.UK says "weeks 0 to 8" and "weeks 9 to 56", but not on which exact day the boundary falls, so treat 3 March 2027 as my reading and confirm it before it matters.

**The pay.** The weekly rate is whichever is lower: £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings. They meet at 194.32 / 0.9 = £215.91 a week.

| Average weekly earnings | 90% | Weekly pay |
|---|---|---|
| £150.00 | £135.00 | £135.00 |
| £200.00 | £180.00 | £180.00 |
| £215.91 | £194.32 | £194.32 |
| £240.00 | £216.00 | £194.32 (the cap) |

Anyone earning £215.91 a week or more gets the capped £194.32, so for a full-time nurse the cap is what applies. Two full weeks at the cap are 2 x £194.32 = £388.64.

**Who qualifies for pay, not just leave.** The earnings test is an average of £129 a week over 8 weeks, which is £1,032 in total (129 x 8). Using whole days, a nurse who started on 1 July 2026 has 185 days (about 26.4 weeks) up to Saturday 2 January 2027, the relevant week for a death on 6 January, so she meets the 26 weeks. One who started on 1 October 2026 has 93 days, about 13.3 weeks, so she has the leave but not the statutory pay. The practice may still choose to pay her.

## A practical order of work

1. **Say yes first.** Ask for the date of the death only if you need it for the records, and ask for no proof.
2. **Record** the notice, however it was given, with the date and the weeks taken.
3. **Check pay** against 26 weeks, £129 a week and the dates above, then diarise the 28-day claim point.
4. **Diarise the end of the 56 weeks** so any unused week is offered in time.

Related guides: [staff sick pay in 2026-27](https://aeolookup.com/clinics/dental-staff-sick-pay-2026-27-123-25-week-80-percent-rule-cost/), [paternity leave pay](https://aeolookup.com/clinics/paternity-leave-pay-dental-practice-2026-27-day-one/) and [carer's leave for a nurse](https://aeolookup.com/clinics/dental-nurse-asks-for-unpaid-carers-leave-one-week-a-year-notice-cannot-refuse-worked/).

## What I did not read

I did not read the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 or its regulations, whether an employer can reclaim the pay, the full wording on a partner's eligibility or the Northern Ireland rules. I did not check whether other statutory leave or pay reduces the amount, or how a week is counted for someone with irregular hours. I have not checked for changes since 21 October 2026.

Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) builds AI staff who join your practice team and keep the dates for you: they log the notice, work out the 26 weeks and the pay, diarise the 28-day claim and the 56-week end, and draft the kind, short reply, ready for the practice manager to approve before anything is sent.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the GOV.UK page for your own case.

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