NHS Refused time off for funeral - Special leave policy

[NTBees]

Hi
I work in the NHS and my uncle has just passed away. Today at work I requested off the day of his funeral but management has refused the time off stating that isn't enough staff to cover if I am not in.
Could someone please help me locate the most current special leave policy so I can check to see if the refusal is allowed under policy.
Currently this is all I have been able to find but have concerns that it is not up to date.
www.nhsemployers.org/-/media/Employers/Documents/Armed-Forces/RSCH-Special-leave-policy-v-2-April-2017.pdf?la=en&hash=9187387B330227E9D54B036852580303E22D1ED8
Sorry I did just post this in an older forum but though it might be better to start a new thread, hope that is ok.
Thanks for any help in this matter.

Each NHS trust will have their own Special Leave policy, is the one you have linked from your own employer?

I had to take MIL’s funeral day as annual leave as my manager stated “we werent married” (ex dp and i had been together over 10yrs at that point and 2 dc). Ive found the NHS to not be sympathetic for such issues. Not a lot of help i know but i know how frustrating they are with these situations.

I think special leave can be applied at managers discretion but compassionate leave is a given however it's only for immediate relatives

www.nhsemployers.org/tchandbook

Section 33.32 onwards. They basically have no compulsion to give you leave unfortunately.

Your trust may have other more specific requirements/options in their internal policies.

Unless it's a parent, grandparent or child generally you have to take annual leave/flexi time and at discretion of management. I'm not in healthcare so me having a day off only affects my work load but if there's no cover you need to swop shifts with someone

Can’t help but very sorry for your loss.

NHS worker here. It's only if it's a parent, grandparent of child so immediate family. I would've just called in sick.

😱
Surely they should give you time off even if it’s using up annual leave. Not for them to decide how close you are to someone. I would say if it would make you stressed/upset by not going call your go and take a couple of days off sick !

Some places don't even do grandparent. Parents and siblings only.

Ask for unpaid leave. Can you swap shifts with someone.

Don't know what your policy would be - have you asked your own HR for a copy? However it would be very unusual for you to be entitled to special leave for an uncle's funeral I'm afraid. As pp has said, can you talk to colleagues and see if someone can swap with you, so you can go?

Think my employer (local council) is only parents and kids. Not unusual sadly.

There's two separate principles here. The restrictions on giving special leave for only the closest of relatives is about whether you are entitled to an additional day of leave over and above your normal statutory entitlement. That is fair enough to be restricted.

That is a completely separate question to whether you can be allowed to go to the funeral at all. It is completely unreasonable to restrict that. Do they seriously expect that no funeral should be attended by anyone other than the parents and or children of the deceased, plus any acquaintance who is retired or unemployed? Of course not. You are not an indentured slave. You are entitled to reasonable treatment. Do whatever is necessary to go - swapping shifts ideally. If you have to go AWOL or pull a Sicky then do so.

My most recent employer (fairly generous in the private sector) wouldn't have given paid leave for an uncle. I took annual leave for my aunt. Sorry for your loss.

I'm sure you will get time off by swapping a shift/ taking annual leave, you just won't get it off as part of any special leave policy. Ignore the pp who said they would 'take it as sick'
Sorry to the loss of your uncle

Surely if your uncle has only just died, that means you've given your employer fair notice that his funeral will be in the future, maybe in a week or so's time? It isn't as if you're asking to be released today or tomorrow, right?

They sound very inflexible not releasing you with plenty of notice - as much as one can for a funeral that is often difficult to state the actual date for quite a while.

Ccould you compromise by offering to take half a day off rather than the whole day/shift?). It seems reasonable for it to be annual leave, the important thing is paying your respects to your uncle, it's only a day. Maybe that's why they've said no.

Sorry for your loss OP

People seem to be missing that the OP works in the NHS. If it is a patient impacting role and there is insufficient cover then the managers may not be able to authorise leave for any reason no matter how sorry they may feel.

It may require the OP to ask someone else to swap their planned annual leave if they can, or if the reason there is insufficient capacity due to sickness and vacancies they might not even have that option. Work won't ask someone to give up their planned holiday in this instance it would be down to the OP as it would be unfair of a manager to guilt trip someone in to forgoing long awaited holiday. Even more difficult if the funeral is during the Easter holidays where leave will have been committed long ago to competing parents dealing with school holidays.

For people working in other industries it may sound heartless but they'd be the first to shout if patient appointments were cancelled or there were unsafe levels of staff on wards and they wouldn't care that it was because someone was at a funeral.

I disagree, the statistics for nursing and doctor staffing levels across the uk demonstrate that their is a national shortage. Most hospitals struggle to achieve the minimum legal staff numbers. On wards the managers are generally also nurses, rather than 'managers'