Kerry and her advocacy work are an extraordinary example of someone who is tirelessly fighting for more compassion, dignity, and better wellbeing in the workplace for all. Drawing from her own deeply personal experience of grief and her extensive voluntary work as a trustee for SOBS (Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide), Kerry has turned personal loss into purposeful action - championing a cause that touches every life.
Kerry has self-funded and singlehandedly launched a national campaign to ensure that the government’s proposed introduction of a legal right for all workers to two weeks of bereavement leave is also leave that is paid. Kerry’s campaign highlights a crucial and often overlooked issue: that paid leave at a time of extreme grief should not be a privilege reserved for those who work for supportive or well-resourced employers, but a right extended to everyone. Including those in part-time, shift-based, lower-paid, or undervalued roles who at one of the worst times in their lives, may well find themselves also having to contend with financial insecurity.
What began as a personal project has, through her recognition of the power of collaboration, evolved into a fully-fledged campaign. Kerry has built a small, empowered, and passionate team who, under her leadership, are engaging political stakeholders, trade unions, the charity sector, industry, and other formal bodies. Kerry has already seen tangible impact: her advocacy has led one of the UK’s largest confectionery companies to introduce a specialist bereavement policy and support framework for all its employees (11,000 in total, including subsidiary companies) — a testament to her influence and determination.
I knew when Kerry and her team approached me asking for support for this campaign - I wanted in. There is meaningful and impactful change to be made here to better the lives and wellbeing of grieving individuals. We need your support, your voice and your noise, Grief Gang.
About this campaign and Kerry Parkin
Current proposal in law: 7 days of unpaid bereavement leave, to be taken within 56 days of the death. The Government is consulting on the detail, and this is where we would like to insert our changes!
Our recommendations: We are calling for up to two weeks of paid leave, covering close family, foster and kinship carers, chosen family relationships and partners affected by pregnancy loss. Leave should be flexible, allowing it to be taken continuously or intermittently and from the date the death becomes known.
Our campaign and engagement: We are calling for leave to be available for 56 weeks, rather than 56 days, reflecting the non-linear nature of grief and the need for flexibility around significant dates and events. We have submitted our consultation response and continue to engage constructively with industry, trade unions, all religious faith groups, Government ministers and officials, and a broad coalition of MPs from across both benches to secure the strongest possible protections.
We need as many MP’s as possible to attend our drop in meeting in late October to meet campaigners and bereaved people with lived experience, hear first-hand about the impact of the current proposals, and support calls for a more compassionate and practical approach to bereavement leave.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Step 1:
Locate your local MP
Easily locate your local MP via the button below. All you need is your postcode!
Step 2:
We’ve made this part super easy for you. All you need to do is lift the copy from this shared template, fill in the few short blank spaces and send via email to your MP.
Write to your MP
And that’s it! (for now)
We’re confident in this campaign and know the asks of it will speak to many of us in this community. Let’s make change, for the future generation of grieving individuals.