NI bereavement pay becomes day-one right from 6 April

From Monday 6 April 2026, employees in Northern Ireland who lose a child or experience a miscarriage can claim Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay from day one in the job. The Department for the Economy has made new rules-the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Employment and Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026-that rewrite how eligibility and pay are worked out. As recorded on legislation.gov.uk (SR 2026 No. 74), they are in operation now and must be approved by the Northern Ireland Assembly within six months.

The big shift is removal of the old 26‑week continuous service rule. You no longer need half a year with the same employer to qualify for pay. This gives effect to a day‑one right promised in the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. What this means: if you are an employee and meet the earnings test, you can be paid even if you started very recently.

Eligibility still rests on meeting the usual weekly earnings threshold for statutory payments. The new rules make that fairer by changing how “normal weekly earnings” are calculated and by letting payroll use “expected” earnings where actual pay data is thin or misleading. According to legislation.gov.uk and the Department for the Economy’s own materials, this is designed so that new starters and people with atypical patterns are not excluded.

Here’s how normal weekly earnings work. Payroll normally looks back over the eight weeks before the end of the relevant period before the bereavement. Money due for work in that window counts, even if it lands just after the window closes. If you had a back‑dated pay rise that covers those weeks, the law treats it as if it had been paid on time-so your average isn’t dragged down by admin delays. If there’s no clear “normal pay day”, any actual day of payment can be used.

When the eight‑week look‑back doesn’t tell the full story-say you joined days before the bereavement or you had pre‑arranged unpaid leave-employers must use “expected normal weekly earnings”. They base this on reasonable information: your contract rate, your normal hours, earlier representative weeks, known unpaid absences unrelated to eligibility, and anything else sensible to consider. What this means: your future rota and contract can be used to evidence what you would ordinarily earn.

The amount of statutory parental bereavement pay is then set at 90% of the normal weekly earnings figure that applies to you. The regulations lay out several versions of the calculation to cover different mixes of actual and expected weeks around the bereavement. In plain terms, payroll averages eight weeks that may include both what you actually earned and what you were reasonably expected to earn, then pays 90% of that-provided you meet the weekly earnings threshold under the statutory scheme.

Scenario 1: you’re a brand‑new starter. You signed a contract for 37.5 hours at £12 an hour and were due to start full shifts in the coming weeks. A bereavement happens in your first week. Under the new approach, payroll can use your expected hours and rate to work out expected weekly earnings (£450), then pay 90% (£405), subject to the statutory rules and thresholds. Before 6 April 2026, you could have missed out because you lacked service or your look‑back showed little or no pay.

Scenario 2: you work variable hours. In the eight weeks before the bereavement you had only two paid weeks because of rota gaps, but your upcoming seven‑week rota shows a steady 24 hours at £11 per hour. Payroll can treat those seven weeks as representative, giving expected weekly earnings of £264 and a weekly payment of 90% (£237.60), again subject to the statutory tests. What this means: quiet weeks in the past don’t automatically disqualify you when there is clear evidence of typical hours ahead.

Scenario 3: you receive a back‑dated pay rise that covers part of the look‑back. Even if the extra pay arrives later, the law treats it as if it applied during those earlier weeks, lifting your average. This prevents underpayment that would otherwise occur because the paperwork lagged behind your real rate.

The regulations now explicitly include miscarriage. If you experience a miscarriage-or become aware of it-on or after 6 April 2026, you can be entitled to statutory parental bereavement pay on the same day‑one basis, provided the earnings test is met. The persons abroad and mariners rules have been updated so this applies consistently across those settings as well.

Cross‑border workers get clarity too. If you’re employed in an EEA state but covered by UK social security coordination rules, certain weeks worked in the EEA can be treated as if they were worked in Northern Ireland when testing your entitlement. This is important for people who live and work across the island of Ireland or in wider EEA roles-your qualifying weeks don’t vanish just because they were outside Northern Ireland.

There is also a safeguard against avoidance. If an employer ends someone’s employment solely or mainly to dodge paying statutory parental bereavement pay, the former employer can still be liable to pay. What this means: ending a contract to sidestep the payment is not a way out under the law.

If you need to use this right, tell your employer as soon as you can and keep simple evidence handy-your contract rate, typical hours, any rota or offer letters, and recent payslips. Ask payroll to apply the post‑6 April 2026 rules on expected earnings if your look‑back is patchy. For authoritative wording and updates, refer to legislation.gov.uk (SR 2026 No. 74) and the Department for the Economy’s impact assessment published on 23 February 2026.