Returning to Work After Bereavement: Rights and Practical Guidance

Returning to work after losing someone close to you can feel profoundly strange — a world that has irrevocably changed expecting you to behave as though nothing has happened. Knowing your rights, having strategies for difficult interactions, and understanding the support available to you can make that transition less overwhelming. This guide covers the practical and legal landscape of returning to work while bereaved.

Phased return to work: how to request one and what the law requires

A phased return to work means returning gradually — perhaps starting with reduced hours or fewer days per week, then building back to full capacity over an agreed period. There is no absolute legal right to a phased return, but there are circumstances in which your employer is legally required to consider one seriously.

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers are required to make 'reasonable adjustments' for employees with a disability. A disability, under the Act, means a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Bereavement-related depression, anxiety, or complicated grief can qualify as a disability if they meet this threshold — and if they do, a phased return is likely to be a reasonable adjustment that your employer must at least genuinely consider.

Even where the Equality Act threshold is not met, good employers routinely offer phased returns as a matter of good practice and compassionate management. To request one:

• Ask your line manager or HR in writing, explaining briefly what you are finding difficult and what phased arrangement you are requesting
• If your GP supports a phased return, ask them to note this on your fit note
• Propose a specific, time-limited arrangement — for example, returning at 50% for the first two weeks, 75% for the following two weeks, then full hours
• Agree a review point so that the arrangement can be adjusted if needed

Telling colleagues: managing the return conversation

Before your return, it can help to decide in advance how much information you want to share with colleagues, and how you want to handle people's expressions of sympathy. There is no single right answer — some people find the support helpful; others find repeated condolences exhausting and destabilising.

Options for managing this include:

• Ask your line manager to communicate on your behalf: many managers will send a brief note to the team before you return, something like: "[Name] is returning on Monday. They are aware of your support. Please be considerate about not raising the subject directly unless they choose to." This takes the pressure off you to manage every individual reaction
• Prepare a short response for sympathetic colleagues: having a practised phrase like "Thank you, I appreciate it. I'm focusing on getting back into the work for now" can help you manage conversations without becoming overwhelmed
• Choose a quiet return time: if possible, returning on a quieter day (mid-week rather than Monday morning) or earlier in the day when fewer people are around can make the first day less intense

You are under no legal or professional obligation to discuss the details of your bereavement with colleagues. What you share is entirely your choice.

Bereavement and mental health: the Equality Act 2010

Grief does not always resolve in a neat timeframe. For some people, bereavement leads to prolonged depression, anxiety disorders, post- traumatic symptoms (particularly after sudden or traumatic deaths), or what is now clinically recognised as Prolonged Grief Disorder. These are genuine medical conditions, not simply "taking it badly".

Where a mental health condition arising from bereavement has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on daily life, the Equality Act 2010 may apply. This gives you protection from discrimination — your employer cannot dismiss you, demote you, or treat you less favourably because of a disability. It also requires them to consider reasonable adjustments, which may include reduced hours, changed responsibilities, different workplace location, or other accommodations.

If you believe you may be in this position, speaking to your GP is the first step. A formal diagnosis and clinical support, combined with clear communication to your employer via HR, gives you the clearest legal footing.

Employee Assistance Programmes: free counselling through your employer

The majority of medium and large employers in the UK subscribe to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). EAPs provide employees with free, confidential access to a range of wellbeing services — including bereavement counselling — that operate completely separately from your employment record. Your line manager or HR will not know that you have accessed the service.

EAP services typically include:

• Short-term counselling (typically 6–8 sessions) with a qualified counsellor or psychotherapist, available by telephone or video call
• In-the-moment emotional support via a 24-hour helpline
• Legal and financial guidance, which may be relevant if you are also managing an estate or financial difficulties following the bereavement

To find out whether your employer has an EAP, check your staff handbook, your HR intranet, or ask your HR department. The service details (often a freephone number) are frequently printed on payslips or displayed on workplace noticeboards.

When the deceased also worked with you: a specific challenge

If the person who died was also a colleague — a co-worker, a manager, or someone in the same team — returning to work brings a distinctive set of challenges that are rarely acknowledged. The workplace itself becomes a site of grief, full of reminders: their desk, their contact in shared documents, their name in old email threads.

Practical matters that can help:

• Ask your manager or IT department to deal with email auto- responses and voicemail greetings associated with the deceased before you return, so you do not encounter them unexpectedly
• Request that personal belongings left at their workstation are sensitively cleared or returned to the family before you come back
• Acknowledge openly with your immediate team that grief may surface at unexpected times — normalising this removes some of the pressure to perform wellness

You are also not alone in this: other colleagues will be grieving too, and collective grief in a workplace — while challenging — can also be a source of genuine connection and support. Some organisations arrange a brief group acknowledgement of a colleague's death before returning to normal working, which many employees find helpful.