Bereavement Leave Ireland: Days, Pay, and Rules Explained

When someone close to you dies, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your employer will give you time off. In Ireland, bereavement leave entitlements vary sharply depending on whether you work in the HSE, the civil service, or a school covered by the INTO or TUI. This guide walks through exactly how many days you can take, who counts as family, and whether you get paid — backed by official policies and union agreements.

HSE immediate family: up to 20 days (spouse/child) ·
Civil service immediate family: up to 20 days (spouse/child) ·
INTO teacher parent: up to 5 days ·
TUI spouse/child: 20 days

The pattern across these four sectors is clear: immediate family members get the most generous leave, while extended family entitlements vary. Here’s how the numbers stack up side by side.

What this means: all four public-sector or union-aligned employers provide paid bereavement leave, but the definition of immediate family and the cap for distant relatives differ — a trade-off that matters most for staff with large extended families.

How many days are you entitled to for bereavement in Ireland?

Entitlement for immediate family

The term “immediate family” typically covers a spouse, child, parent, and sibling — but the exact number of days hinges on your employer.

• HSE staff: up to 20 days paid leave on the death of a spouse (including a cohabiting partner) or a child (HSE Bereavement Leave).
• Civil servants: up to 20 working days for the death of a spouse, child, or a person in a relationship of domestic dependency (Circular 01/2017).
• INTO teachers: up to 20 days for a spouse, child, or domestic dependent (INTO Bereavement Leave).
• TUI second-level teachers: 20 days for a spouse or child (TUI Bereavement Leave).

Entitlement for extended family

For relatives outside the immediate circle — grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins — the rules tighten sharply.

• Civil service: up to 1 working day on the death of an uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew, extendable to 5 days in exceptional circumstances (Circular 01/2017).
• HSE: up to 3 days of special leave for a more distant relative if the staff member lived in the same house or is arranging the funeral (HSE Bereavement Leave).
• INTO: up to 5 days for grandparents, grandchildren, and in-laws (INTO Bereavement Leave).
• TUI: no specific extended family provision is published; members should check their individual contract.

The catch: if you work in the civil service and your uncle dies, you get one day unless you can argue exceptional circumstances — whereas an INTO teacher gets five days for a grandparent. These gaps matter for staff with close-knit extended families.

Difference between public and private sector

Irish law does not mandate statutory bereavement leave for private-sector employees (unlike the five days in the public sector). The Workplace Relations Commission confirms that private employers may offer paid or unpaid leave at their discretion. For anyone outside the public sector or union agreements, entitlements depend entirely on the contract of employment — a significant gap that leaves many workers without guaranteed paid time off.

The implication: if you work for a small private company, your bereavement leave may be zero unless your employer has opted to provide it. That contrasts sharply with the 20-day maximum available to HSE and civil service staff.

What are the rules around bereavement leave?

Who qualifies as immediate family

Each employer has its own definition. The HSE includes a cohabiting partner in the 20-day category. The civil service includes “a person in a relationship of domestic dependency.” The INTO and TUI mirror the civil service definition. In all cases, a spouse and child are always covered; parents and siblings are covered at the lower 5-day rate.

• HSE immediate family for 20 days: spouse (including cohabiting partner), child.
• HSE immediate family for 5 days: father, mother, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law (HSE Bereavement Leave).
• Civil service immediate family for 20 days: spouse, child, domestic dependent.
• Civil service immediate family for 5 days: other immediate relatives (defined as parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, in-law) (Circular 01/2017).

When bereavement leave starts

Bereavement leave begins on the first weekday (excluding public holidays) after the date of death. The INTO explicitly states this, and the HSE and civil service operate on the same principle. The leave is granted only at the time of the bereavement — it cannot be taken retrospectively. For example, if a relative dies on a Friday, the leave clock starts the following Monday.

Can leave be substituted

The civil service circular explicitly states that bereavement leave cannot be substituted for any other form of leave except annual leave (Circular 01/2017). The HSE takes the same approach. This means you cannot cash out unused bereavement days or convert them to sick leave. The rule prevents staff from using bereavement leave as a substitute for other entitlements.

Do you get paid for being on bereavement?

Paid leave in HSE

Yes — HSE bereavement leave is paid at the staff member’s normal rate of pay. The HSE policy states that the leave is “paid time off work when an immediate family member dies.” No distinction is made between the 20-day and 5-day categories: both are paid.

Paid leave in civil service

The civil service provides paid bereavement leave under Circular 01/2017. All days granted — whether 1, 5, or 20 — are paid. The circular does not mention unpaid leave options; the assumption is full pay during the period.

Paid leave for teachers

Both the INTO and TUI agreements confirm that bereavement leave is paid. The INTO guidance uses the term “paid leave” throughout. TUI’s published schedule lists the days as “paid.”

Why this matters: in Ireland’s public sector and unionised teaching workforce, bereavement leave is fully paid across all categories. For private-sector workers, the picture is cloudier — the law does not require payment, so many employers offer unpaid leave or nothing at all. The consequence: a teacher can take 20 paid days to grieve, while a retail worker may have to use annual leave or take unpaid time.

How much time off do you get if a family member dies?

Spouse or child

Across the board, the maximum entitlement is 20 days (or 20 working days in the civil service). The HSE, civil service, INTO, and TUI all converge on this number. For HSE staff, this includes a cohabiting partner (HSE Bereavement Leave).

Parent

For a parent’s death, the maximum is 5 days in the HSE and civil service, and 5 days under INTO and TUI agreements. The INTO specifies “up to 5 days for an immediate relative, including parents.” The civil service circular gives 5 working days for “another immediate relative.”

Grandparent

INTO teachers can take up to 5 days for a grandparent. The civil service allows 1 working day (extendable to 5 in exceptional circumstances). The HSE does not mention grandparents by name but offers up to 3 days of special leave for distant relatives under certain conditions. TUI does not specify. No statutory entitlement exists for grandparents in the private sector.

Uncle

An uncle is not typically considered immediate family in any of these policies. The civil service explicitly includes uncles in the 1-day category (Circular 01/2017). The HSE may grant up to 3 days if the uncle lived in the same house. INTO and TUI do not list uncles separately, so they would fall under extended family at the employer’s discretion.

Bereavement leave policies for teachers and civil service

INTO leave policy

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) provides a generous bereavement scheme for primary teachers. Key points:

• Up to 20 days for spouse, child, or domestic dependent.
• Up to 5 days for parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, in-law.
• Leave begins on the first weekday after the death.
• Paid at normal rate (INTO Bereavement Leave).

TUI second-level provisions

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) covers second-level teachers. Its published schedule:

• 20 days for spouse or child.
• 5 days for parent or sibling.
• Paid leave (TUI Bereavement Leave).

Civil Service Circular 01/2017

This circular, issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, standardises bereavement leave across the civil service:

• Up to 20 working days for spouse, child, or domestic dependent.
• Up to 5 working days for other immediate relatives.
• Up to 1 working day for uncle, aunt, niece, nephew (extendable to 5 in exceptional circumstances).
• 10 days for stillbirth after 24 weeks’ pregnancy.
• Cannot be substituted for other leave types (Circular 01/2017).

The pattern: the civil service and the two teaching unions have converged on very similar entitlements since the 2022 revision that brought teachers into parity with civil service rules. For immediate family, the 20-day standard is now the norm across all public-sector employment.

Confirmed facts and what’s unclear

The implication: employees should verify their specific scheme rather than assume uniform coverage.

Key perspectives from official sources

Bereavement leave is paid time off work when an immediate family member dies.

— HSE staff leave policy

Bereavement leave is granted only at the time of the bereavement.

— Civil Service Circular 01/2017

Teachers can take up to 20 days of bereavement leave for an immediate family member such as a spouse or child, or for another person in a relationship of domestic dependency.

— INTO Bereavement Leave guidance

Bereavement leave begins on the first weekday, excluding public holidays, from the date of death.

— INTO Bereavement Leave

How to request bereavement leave from your employer

1. Notify your manager as soon as possible — ideally on the day of the death or the next working day.
2. Check your contract or staff handbook — public sector and union members should refer to the specific scheme; private employees should ask HR for company policy.
3. Provide documentation — some employers require a death notice or funeral order, though many waive it for close family.
4. Confirm the start date — leave typically begins the first weekday after death, but clarify with your manager.
5. Keep a record — note the dates taken and any follow-up correspondence in case of payroll queries.

Timeline of bereavement leave policy in Ireland

• 2017 — Civil Service Circular 01/2017 standardises bereavement leave rules across all government departments (Circular 01/2017).
• 2022 — Teachers’ unions reach agreement aligning their bereavement leave entitlements with the civil service model, extending 20-day provision to INTO and TUI members (INTO Bereavement Leave).
• Ongoing — HSE bereavement leave policy continues in effect for all staff, covering both clinical and administrative roles (HSE Bereavement Leave).

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Isle of Wight County Press: Death Notices, Births & Marriages
• Kai Widdrington Brenda Tribute After Death: Strictly Star’s Words

For any employee in Ireland facing a bereavement, the choice is clear: if you work in the public sector or under a union agreement, you have solid paid leave entitlements. If you work in the private sector, check your contract — or advocate for a clearer policy, because the cost of uncertainty is time you cannot get back.