How much bereavement leave you get, and whether it's paid

Who can take compassionate leave

All employees are covered, whether they are full-time, part-time or casual, and you don't need a minimum period of service. The entitlement doesn't come out of your sick leave or annual leave balance, and you don't accumulate it: you get two days each time a qualifying event happens.

Compassionate leave applies when:

• a member of your immediate family or household dies
• a member of your immediate family or household contracts or develops a life-threatening illness or injury
• a baby in your immediate family or household is stillborn
• you have a miscarriage, or your current spouse or de facto partner does

Under the Fair Work Act, as Fair Work describes it, immediate family means your spouse or former spouse, de facto partner or former de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling. It also includes the child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of your spouse or de facto partner, and step and adoptive relations count. Fair Work's examples of relatives outside that list are cousins, aunts and uncles: you can take compassionate leave for them if they are a member of your household or if your employer agrees. Close friends aren't mentioned, so it is worth asking your employer, and checking your award or agreement, which can also provide additional entitlements.

Is it paid?

It depends on how you are employed. Full-time and part-time employees are paid their base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked on the days they take. Casual employees are entitled to the two days but not to be paid for them. The payment covers base pay only: it doesn't include bonuses, loadings, allowances, overtime or penalty rates. Compassionate leave can't be cashed out.

If you are a casual and can't afford the lost shifts, ask whether your employer will pay you anyway or let you swap shifts, and check your award or enterprise agreement, because some provide more than the minimum. Services Australia's death of a loved one page lists payments and services for grieving family members, which are separate from your work entitlements.

How the two days can be taken

You can take them as one continuous block of two days, as two separate single days, or in any other way you and your employer agree. Separate days can suit you if the funeral is a fortnight after the death, or if you are travelling. If you are already on another type of leave, such as annual leave, and someone close to you dies, you can use compassionate leave instead of the other leave.

What if two days isn't enough?

Two days is the legal minimum, and many funerals need more travel than that. If you live in Perth and the funeral is in Cairns, or the family's arrangements are complicated, check your award, enterprise agreement or employer policy first, because these can provide additional compassionate leave. Public sector employers have their own terms, so look up the policy that applies to you rather than assuming the national two days is the limit.

You can also ask your employer whether you can use other leave, such as annual leave or long service leave once you qualify (see long service leave in every state and territory), or take time off unpaid. Beyond the entitlement, that is up to your employer to agree.

Telling your employer, and what evidence they can ask for

You need to let your employer know as soon as practicable. That can be after the leave has started, so you don't have to ring anyone before you have taken in what has happened. Say how long you expect to be away, even if it's only an estimate.

Your employer can ask for evidence, but the request has to be reasonable. Fair Work gives a death or funeral notice or a statutory declaration as examples, and says the evidence needs to be enough to convince a reasonable person that the leave was for a genuine reason. There are no strict rules about the type, though an award or agreement may set out what is expected. If you don't give the notice or evidence that was reasonably requested, you may not get the leave, so it is worth offering what you have, such as a funeral notice, and saying when you can supply the rest.

A short message is enough to start with:

If your employer says no

If you are told you can't take compassionate leave for a qualifying event, or you think you are being penalised for taking it, contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94. Fair Work says it is unlawful to take adverse action against someone because they have or have used a workplace right, and an entitlement under the Fair Work Act is a workplace right.

If you are dismissed, you generally have only 21 days from the day after your dismissal to apply to the Fair Work Commission, whether you think it was unfair or that you were fired for using a workplace right, so don't wait long. Fair Work doesn't state a time limit for adverse action that isn't a dismissal on the pages checked, so ask the Infoline or the Commission.

Grief can also make it hard to return to work on schedule. If you don't feel ready, a doctor can tell you whether sick leave applies, and resigning due to health or stress covers what to consider if the strain goes on longer. If you are a casual and unsure how your rights differ from other employees, casual employment rights sets out the rest of what you are entitled to.