Creative agency Lucky Generals has launched an open-source bereavement policy as part of its involvement with The Grief Project, an initiative designed to equip the creative industries with the empathy needed to navigate grief within the workplace.
The new policy includes 3 weeks of flexible paid leave and death admin support from legal planning provider Octopus Legacy. The policy has been endorsed by the well-being and mental health charity NABS.
This initiative comes after research conducted by the agency revealed two-thirds of people in the UK believe bereavement leave is paid. However, in the UK compassionate leave or bereavement leave does not require employers to offer any paid time off. The only exception to this is in the case of the loss of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks.
Lucky General head of social impact Lameya Chaudry said: “Grief is one of life’s few universal experiences, yet it’s still treated like a taboo in many workplaces, and this research shows there is a lot of confusion and miscommunication about employee’s rights.
“With The Grief Project, we wanted to challenge the outdated mindset and show what compassionate, holistic support looks like. With this initiative, we are saying we see you, we support you, and we’ll meet you where you are. It’s time for businesses to lead with empathy, not just efficiency, and we’re proud to take this step forward.”
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The data from the agency highlighted that 55% of 16- to 75-year-olds know little to nothing about their company’s bereavement leave policy.
According to the data, 69% of those surveyed believed employers should have a bereavement policy in place that accommodates different religious needs and 86% thought that company’s bereavement policies should allow for flexibility.
Lucky Generals founder, Helen Calcraft said: “Most companies are still operating within a 1950s stiff upper lip universe, where you take two weeks off work immediately after a loss, and then return to work and are expected to have closed the grief chapter and be back to normal.
“We now know that our response to grief is highly individual, and it is by no means linear or “done” after 2 weeks. So, the new policy allows each person to take the time they need, when they need it, to process and heal over a three-year period, bringing bereavement policies into the 21st Century.”
The creative agency has said it hopes that its research will lead other agencies to adopt more “compassionate and inclusive” grief policies.
