Time-poor & bereaved: employees forced back to work before they’re ready call for more support from employers – MetLife UK

Employees are not getting enough time off work or support to properly grieve the loss of a loved one according to new research from MetLife UK, the employee benefits and protection provider. 

A fifth (21%) of adults say that having more time off work to grieve following a bereavement would have helped them, up from 15% who said the same in 2023.

The research explores the experiences and sentiments among UK working adults who’ve experienced bereavement in the past two years, looking into what support they want from their employer at this time.

Over half (55%) of employees reveal it took them up to eight weeks to get back to their usual self at work after a bereavement. For more than one in ten (13%), it took more than eight weeks to get back to normal at work. Yet average UK compassionate leave in the UK ranges between 3 and 5 working days. 

When it comes to what else would help, 17% said access to counselling, and a further 15% said that employers offering practical support, such as help to contact accountants, or closing bank accounts of the deceased would be helpful. One in ten (12%) even went as far to say their employer helping with funeral planning would be of support.

Charlotte O’Brien, Head of Employee Benefits at MetLife UK, commented: “We know that compassionate leave policies differ across the UK, with the average time given being between three and five days. Yet our research shows over half of the bereaved say it takes between one and eight weeks to feel like themselves at work. That’s 50% of your workers back in the workplace physically but not mentally; there is a clear disparity between what is given and what is needed! While there is nothing we can do about the length of compassionate leave in the UK, we can help change how supported workers are when they are naturally not themselves.

“Whether that’s offering counselling or easing the additional “workload” they face with funeral planning and administration, we believe that Life Insurance is more than just paying a lump sum upon death – it’s about fully supporting workers when they are bereaved, time-poor and at a loss.” 

Mark Wood, Chairman of Everest, said: “The death of an employee is always a crisis. Our support and assistance removes the sudden complex and unfamiliar administrative burden which immediately follows an untimely bereavement allowing an unhurried time to grieve. Our services which are integral to MetLife’s Group Life cover tangibly demonstrate an employer’s care for their people at the most difficult of times.”

MetLife’s Group Life policy gives holders free access to its Life and Legacy services. That’s help with both the practical and emotional side of grief. It grants access to end-of-life planning services and support for workers’ families in the event of their death. This includes 24/7 support and assistance, funeral price finding and counselling.  However, it offers so much more than that, pre-death a policy holder has access to free Will writing and a digital lockbox, for important documents and online passwords, making them accessible for the bereaved family. Making life after death that bit easier for loved ones.