bereavement policy?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

i have a question for everyone. what is your employer's policy on bereavement time?

my grandma lives up north, about a 4 hour flight away. she has terminal lung CA and is on hospice care. my dad called me the other day and said she has taken a turn for the worse.

my boss is not helpful. when i said i might need to take time off for a funeral, she said i needed to either use my vacation time or call in sick and take it unpaid... they dont give bereavement time. i thought employers had to give you atleast one bereavement day?

i am so frustrated! :angryfire

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Specializes in L&D, PACU.

We get three 8 hour days (we work 12's)

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Specializes in Tele, Infectious Disease, OHN.

We are allowed to take 3 days of our sick leave. Not much of a benefit, in my opinion. Sorry about your grandma.

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Education.

That should have been explained or made available to you during your initial orientation period. I suggest you call your Human Resources department to get the information.

Sorry to hear about your grandma. :icon_hug:

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First, I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother.

You certainly don't need this hassle on top of that stress. It's pretty unusual for there to be no bereavement time allowed... check your employee manual and if lacking that, call HR and ask.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I am so sorry for your predicament.

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Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

i am going to try and work things out with her in the morning, i was too mad to do it today. she is not a nurse but is the nursing supervisor (go figure), and my direct unit supervisor is a physician. it is a small outpatient center, so no HR which really stinks. but if i cant work it out... i will just call it quits at the endo lab. family is so much more important... and i know i will regret it greatly if i dont go to see her. thanks everyone for responding.

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Specializes in ICU,PCU,ER, TELE,SNIFF, STEP DOWN PCT.
i have a question for everyone. what is your employer's policy on bereavement time?

my grandma lives up north, about a 4 hour flight away. she has terminal lung CA and is on hospice care. my dad called me the other day and said she has taken a turn for the worse.

my boss is not helpful. when i said i might need to take time off for a funeral, she said i needed to either use my vacation time or call in sick and take it unpaid... they dont give bereavement time. i thought employers had to give you atleast one bereavement day?

i am so frustrated! :angryfire

Not the Dept I used to work at. If it was not, Mom dad, brother or sister. THen no, and you had2 unpaid days off.

If it was Grandparents, Uncles/aunts/cousins or so on no you had to find someone to work and no paid time off.

I am sorry to hear for you dilema, but many people have suh large families and have seen abuse he system. Heck we saw one person at a hospital who was a PT'r, take a MONTH for a great great aunt the staff told us and their Sup did not care since the hospital was staffed. Others were upset since it was by who was friends with a certain sup, but I felt sorry for the staff as this is the only person they did that for.

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Specializes in Med/Surg. for now.

I am so sorry to hear about your Grandma.

I am feeling rather lucky right this minute (within context of course). My daughter just lost a baby at about 4.5 months and I was given 36 hours of bereavement (we work 12 hour shifts) and another week of PTO (paid time off), no questions asked!! And they offered me the bereavement, not the other way around. Wow, I need to say thanks when I go to work on Friday.....

Paula

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When my Mom lived with me, I explained her situation to my boss that I may need to take a leave if things became "worse".

About 2 weeks later, I had to take Mom to the ER and had to call off...

The next day, Mom had a seizure and it became obvious that her time was near, so I called my boss and told her that I needed to start my leave that day. She told me to call when I could return.

I was paid for 3 days of leave after Mom passed, and I had a bit over a week off, no questions asked.

This all happened BEFORE my 90 day probation period with the company, so I am pleased with my job, and (most) of the people I work with.

{{{HUGS}}} to you for your Grandma, and I pray things work out for you.

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Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

this kind of thing here is why nurses leave the profession...total disrespect. sorry to hear about your grandmother. i don't know my current employers policy but when my sister died and i had to go to louisiana for her funeral i got 3 paid days.. however, i had to bring in the funeral pamphlet and her obit. some people are just morbid.

i have a question for everyone. what is your employer's policy on bereavement time?

my grandma lives up north, about a 4 hour flight away. she has terminal lung ca and is on hospice care. my dad called me the other day and said she has taken a turn for the worse.

my boss is not helpful. when i said i might need to take time off for a funeral, she said i needed to either use my vacation time or call in sick and take it unpaid... they dont give bereavement time. i thought employers had to give you atleast one bereavement day?

i am so frustrated! :angryfire

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i am going to try and work things out with her in the morning, i was too mad to do it today. she is not a nurse but is the nursing supervisor (go figure), and my direct unit supervisor is a physician. it is a small outpatient center, so no HR which really stinks. but if i cant work it out... i will just call it quits at the endo lab. family is so much more important... and i know i will regret it greatly if i dont go to see her. thanks everyone for responding.
I am so sorry. Even if they don't have a bereavement policy, the right (and humane) thing to do would be to offer you the paid time off. This isn't something for which you should have to negotiate.
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