Answer: Whether you have the right to bereavement leave depends first on what type of employee you are. If you are a casual employee, you are probably not entitled to bereavement leave. If you are an employee of irregular or general work hours, dispatched employee, or assignment contract employee, you should have the same bereavement rights as full-time employees do, as long as you have an employment relationship with your employer. Length of service or other conditions does not prevent you from the entitlement to bereavement leave.
At present, the local regulations on bereavement leave formulated in all parts of the country are based on the 1980 rules of the State Administration of Labor and the Ministry of Finance on Bereavement Leave, which generally stipulate that if an employee¡¯s immediate family member dies, they shall be given three days of paid bereavement leave, and if a long journey is needed for the funeral, they shall be given additional travel leave.1The State Administration of Labor and the Ministry of Finance in 1980, the Notice on the Issue of Marriage and Bereavement Leave and Travel for Employees of State-owned Enterprises, and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Labor, the Interim Provisions on Holiday Benefits and Death Pension Benefits for Employees of Enterprises in Guangdong Province (Yue Lao Xin (1997) No.115).The aforementioned immediate family members are only limited to the employee’s own parents, current spouse, children, and of course, adoptive parents and adopted children. Parents-in-law are not immediate family members.2Civil Judgment of Second Instance of Labor Dispute between Zhou Qiming and Beijing Kaixie Hotel Co., Ltd. Civil Judgment of Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court (2022) Jing 02 Min Zhong No.11969.
The number of days of bereavement leave for employees in some regions exceeds the aforementioned three-day standard. For example, some places in Guangdong (including Shenzhen) implement five-day bereavement leave. Sichuan Province also stipulates addition travel leave other than five-day bereavement leave.3Li Qiugui, Qingyuan Fangyuan New Materials Co., Ltd. Employment contract Dispute Civil Judgment of Second Instance Civil Judgment of Qingyuan Intermediate People’s Court of Guangdong Province (2021) Yue 18 Min Zhong No.1774, Guangdong Provincial Labor Department Yue Lao Xin (1997) No.115 Interim Provisions on Holiday Treatment and Death Pension Treatment for Employees of Enterprises in Guangdong Province, Sichuan Provincial Labor Department (CLX (1993) No.95) Reply to the Provisions on Marriage and Bereavement Leave for Enterprise Employees (five days of bereavement leave, plus travel leave), Wang Shuqiang v. Shenzhen Weihua Cargo Transportation Co., Ltd. and other motor vehicle traffic accident liability disputes, Civil Judgment of Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court of Guangdong Province (2014) Shen Zhong Fa Min Zhong Zi No.1055.
Bereavement leave is based on the death of an immediate family member, similar to sick leave based on illness, and cannot be accumulated and carried forward to next year. This is different from the rule for annual leave.
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- 1The State Administration of Labor and the Ministry of Finance in 1980, the Notice on the Issue of Marriage and Bereavement Leave and Travel for Employees of State-owned Enterprises, and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Labor, the Interim Provisions on Holiday Benefits and Death Pension Benefits for Employees of Enterprises in Guangdong Province (Yue Lao Xin (1997) No.115).
- 2Civil Judgment of Second Instance of Labor Dispute between Zhou Qiming and Beijing Kaixie Hotel Co., Ltd. Civil Judgment of Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court (2022) Jing 02 Min Zhong No.11969.
- 3Li Qiugui, Qingyuan Fangyuan New Materials Co., Ltd. Employment contract Dispute Civil Judgment of Second Instance Civil Judgment of Qingyuan Intermediate People’s Court of Guangdong Province (2021) Yue 18 Min Zhong No.1774, Guangdong Provincial Labor Department Yue Lao Xin (1997) No.115 Interim Provisions on Holiday Treatment and Death Pension Treatment for Employees of Enterprises in Guangdong Province, Sichuan Provincial Labor Department (CLX (1993) No.95) Reply to the Provisions on Marriage and Bereavement Leave for Enterprise Employees (five days of bereavement leave, plus travel leave), Wang Shuqiang v. Shenzhen Weihua Cargo Transportation Co., Ltd. and other motor vehicle traffic accident liability disputes, Civil Judgment of Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court of Guangdong Province (2014) Shen Zhong Fa Min Zhong Zi No.1055.