Can You Take Bereavement Leave When a Pet Dies?

Detailed Explanation

For many people a pet is family, and the days after one dies can be hard to work through. The law in most countries hasn't caught up with that. Statutory bereavement leave, where it exists at all, is written around the death of a person. That doesn't make the grief any less real (see how to cope with the loss of a pet); it means the time off usually comes from your workplace's goodwill and your ordinary leave, not from a dedicated legal right.

Why the law rarely covers pets

Bereavement leave laws are drafted around relationships between people. They list who counts, usually a partner, children, parents, siblings, grandparents and sometimes other household members or dependants, and leave the entitlement at that. An animal doesn't fall within those definitions, however long it lived with the family. This is the same pattern across the three countries this site covers most closely.

Australia

Under the National Employment Standards, most employees get 2 days of compassionate leave each time a member of their immediate family or household dies. The Fair Work Act defines both terms by reference to people, so a pet's death doesn't trigger the entitlement. Compassionate leave when a pet dies in Australia covers the Australian rules and the alternatives in more detail.

United Kingdom

Acas, the UK's workplace advisory service, says there is no general legal right to paid time off for bereavement. The statutory rights that do exist relate to people:

• Time off for dependants lets employees take reasonable time off to deal with emergencies involving a dependant, defined as a spouse, partner, child, grandchild, parent or someone who depends on them for care. It doesn't have to be paid.
• Parental bereavement leave gives 2 weeks off to parents whose child dies under 18, or after a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy.
• A wider bereavement leave right is provided for in section 18 of the Employment Rights Act 2025, covering the death of a person with a specified relationship to the employee and pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. When this page was reviewed, that section was not yet in force. Like the existing rights, it is framed around people.

Anything beyond these, including time off for a pet, is up to the employer's own compassionate leave policy.

United States

There's no federal law requiring employers to give bereavement leave. The Department of Labor notes that the Fair Labor Standards Act doesn't require payment for time not worked, and bereavement leave is generally a matter of employer policy. A small number of states have their own bereavement leave laws. California, for example, gives employees of businesses with five or more staff up to 5 days of bereavement leave (not necessarily paid) when a family member dies, and defines family member as a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner or parent-in-law. Pets aren't included in California's law, and the other state laws are generally also written around family members. Rules vary by state, so the state labour department is the place to check.

What people use instead

Wherever you work, the practical options tend to be the same:

• Annual leave or paid time off (PTO): the simplest choice if you have it, and most employers approve it at short notice for something like this.
• Sick or personal leave: allowed in some workplaces if you're genuinely not fit to work, but it isn't designed for bereavement, so it depends on the rules and your employer.
• Unpaid leave: usually possible by agreement if paid leave has run out.
• A flexible or remote day: sometimes more useful than leave, especially on the day of a vet appointment, a euthanasia, or collecting a pet's ashes. Your options when a pet dies covers those practical arrangements.

Employers with pet bereavement leave

Some employers write pet bereavement leave into their own policies, and how much they give is entirely up to them. It's more likely in animal-related workplaces such as veterinary clinics and shelters, but it isn't limited to them. Look in your contract, staff handbook or intranet, or ask HR, before assuming it isn't there.

Once the first days have passed, some people find it helps to have somewhere to put the photos and stories. An online pet memorial can be one quiet way to do that, alongside other pet memorial ideas.

How it works where you are

• In Australia: Can you get compassionate leave when a pet dies? covers the Fair Work Act definitions and what Australian employees use instead.

Things to Consider

• Ask rather than claim. Framing the request as annual leave or a favour usually goes better than presenting it as an entitlement the law doesn't provide.
• Plan ahead where you can. If a pet is being euthanised on a set date, booking the day off in advance saves a difficult phone call on the morning.
• Casual, hourly and gig workers have fewer options. Without accrued leave, unpaid time off arranged with the employer may be the only route.
• Grief doesn't always hit on day one. Some people manage the first day and struggle later in the week. It's fine to ask for time then too.

Common Mistakes

• Assuming statutory bereavement leave covers a pet. In Australia, the UK and the US it doesn't, and asking for it as a right can make the conversation harder.
• Not checking the employer's own policy. Pet bereavement leave, where it exists, sits in company policy rather than the law.
• Not asking at all. Many managers would rather give an informal day than have someone at work who can't concentrate.
• Treating a dismissive response as proof the grief is out of proportion. Pet loss is widely under-recognised at work. That says something about workplace culture, not about you.