Parental Bereavement Allowance

If your child dies before they turn 18, or if you or your partner have a stillbirth or a miscarriage, and you take time off work as parental bereavement leave, you may be able to get financial support through Parental Bereavement Allowance.

Who is eligible for Parental Bereavement Allowance

You and your partner may be eligible for Parental Bereavement Allowance if:

• Your child, or a child you have adopted, dies before they turn 18, or
• You have a stillbirth or a miscarriage

And you take time off work as parental bereavement leave.

'Partner' means a person - whether of a different sex or the same sex - who at the time the child dies or the stillbirth or miscarriage occurs lives with:

• The parent of the child who has died, or
• The woman who has had a stillbirth or miscarriage, or
• The adoptive parent of the child who has died

in an enduring family relationship and is not a relative of theirs.

To be eligible for Parental Bereavement Allowance you must be an employee or treated as an employee.

Information about who is eligible to take parental bereavement leave and when they can take it is available on the Department for Enterprise's Guides to Employment Rights webpage.

If you were the child’s parent or the child’s parent’s partner

You may be eligible for Parental Bereavement Allowance if at the time of the child’s death or stillbirth, or when the miscarriage occurred, you were:

• The child or baby’s parent – either biological, adoptive or parent of a child born to a surrogate, or
  
  
• The partner of the child or baby's parent

However, biological parents of a child or baby are not eligible for Parental Bereavement Allowance after an adoption or parental order has been made, unless there was a contact order in place.

If you or your partner were an adoptive parent

You may be eligible for Parental Bereavement Allowance in respect of a week or weeks:

• After the adoption order was granted, or
  
  
• Before the adoption order was made, if the baby or child was placed with you and the placement was not disrupted (for example, the child was temporarily placed elsewhere) or stopped

If you or your partner had a baby with the help of a surrogate parent

You may be eligible for Parental Bereavement Allowance in respect of a week or weeks:

• After a parental order was made, or
  
  
• Before a parental order was made, if you had applied or intended to apply for a parental order within 6 months of the child’s birth and expected it to be granted.

How long the Parental Bereavement Allowance can be paid for

Parental Bereavement Allowance can be paid for up to 2 weeks for each child who has died or was stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, depending on when and for how long you take time off work. This may be for:

• A block of 2 weeks
• 2 separate weeks, or
• Only 1 week

If you’re getting maternity allowance, paternity allowance or adoption allowance from Social Security when the child or baby dies or the stillbirth or miscarriage occurs you should delay claiming Parental Bereavement Allowance until the other allowance has ended.

Parental Bereavement Allowance can be paid for one week following a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Your claim for Parental Bereavement Allowance must be made in respect of the period of 56 weeks from the date of the child’s death or when the stillbirth or miscarriage occurred.

Work and earnings before the baby or child’s death or the stillbirth or miscarriage

To be eligible for Parental Bereavement Allowance you must have been continuously employed by your employer for at least 26 weeks up to the end of 'the relevant week'. The relevant week is the week (ending with a Saturday) immediately before the week in which the baby or child dies or is stillborn, or the miscarriage occurs.

You must also:

• Continue to be employed up to the day the baby or child dies or is stillborn, or the miscarriage occurs, and
  
  
• Earn on average at least £129 a week (before any tax is deducted) in the 8-week period running up to and including the relevant week (see above)

How much is Parental Bereavement Allowance

Parental Bereavement Allowance is paid at the flat rate of £257.25 a week or 90% of your average earnings for each week, whichever is lower.

'Earnings' means your gross earnings before any deductions for income tax, National Insurance contributions or pension contributions.

Applying for Parental Bereavement Allowance

You can download a PBA1 'Parental Bereavement Allowance Claim Form', available via downloadable documents, or contact us for a paper copy.

Send us your completed claim form as soon as you have reached agreement with your employer about time off work.

Each person who wants to make a claim for Parental Bereavement Allowance must send a separate clam form to us.

You must make your claim within 3 months of taking time off work as parental bereavement leave.

If you don’t claim within this period you won’t be eligible for Parental Bereavement Allowance.

Payment

Payment will usually be made into your bank account or online account.

If you decide to change or cancel the period you take off work after making your claim

If you change or cancel the period that you have told us you will be taking off work as parental bereavement leave you must tell us straightaway.