There will be times where employers are faced with the deeply sad news of an employee’s death. It is important this is handled sensitively. Whether expected or not, the death of a colleague will have a significant emotional impact across the organisation.

Employers will want to respond respectfully while managing both the emotional needs of staff and the practical needs of the business.

This article outlines key starting steps to help employers navigate the immediate aftermath of an employee’s death.

1. Immediate Practical Considerations

Make sure that any key individuals are discreetly made aware as soon as possible. This may include HR, payroll, senior management, ICT and the employee’s line manager. Those individuals can work collaboratively on an appropriate together plan of action.

There are several immediate legal and contractual considerations:

  • Logging the end of contract: You will need to log the employee’s final day at work as their leaving date. This ensures accurate internal records, updated payroll for tax purposes and enables HMRC to be correctly notified of the employee’s passing. You can find useful guidance and more information about these practicalities on the government website here.
  • Final payments: The employee’s final salary, together with any accrued but untaken holiday or other outstanding contractual entitlements, will require processing and any automatic payments cancelled. These payments form part of the deceased employee’s estate, so it is essential to clarify who the deceased’s personal representative is and obtain appropriate evidence, to ensure that funds are paid correctly.
  • Pension scheme and/or life assurance providers: Depending on the scheme’s rules, benefits may be payable on the death of an active member. You will need to notify the pension provider and/or life assurance provider promptly and request information about next steps. If benefits are payable, confirm whether the deceased made any expression of wishes or whether the benefits otherwise fall into the estate. As above, information about this should be provided to the confirmed personal representative.

2. Communicating With the Employee’s Next of Kin

It is natural to want to send condolences to the employee’s next of kin and family. Employers should also be guided by the family’s preferences about how the news is handled.

Specifically, you should seek clarity on:

  • What information may be shared with staff;
  • What information (if any) can be shared with clients or service users who had regular contact with the deceased employee;
  • Confirmation of the personal representatives and who is responsible for handling the deceased’s estate (including arrangements for final payments);
  • What information (if any) may be shared on public platforms (this won’t be appropriate or necessary in all circumstances);
  • Whether colleagues can attend the funeral or memorial service.

Paying respects and honouring the contributions of deceased employees on platforms such as LinkedIn and company websites can be increasingly popular given the technological age we live in. However, we do not recommend public posts without the family’s explicit consent. Premature or unauthorised announcements risk being intrusive and insensitive.

3. Managing the Employee’s Belongings

How to handle the deceased employee’s belongings will vary depending on the workplace set-up. Whatever approach is taken, it should be done sensitively.

Where possible, we recommend arranging collection at a time when colleagues are not present, to avoid further distress. You could also offer flexibility about when items can be collected or delivered to the family. Arrangements may also depend on whether you can keep the belongings safe at the office.

In most cases, this step can be taken later rather than immediately, as the deceased’s next of kin will initially be focused on funeral arrangements and other urgent matters.

4. Staff Communications and Wellbeing

The news of an employee’s death will often be a shock – both to those responsible for delivering the news and those receiving it.

A coordinated approach helps ensure accuracy, consistency and support. Employers may want to use a combination of:

  • in-person meetings;
  • intranet updates;
  • email communications; and
  • direct contact for remote workers or those on longer term leave.

Communications should provide a clear and factual statement, express condolences on behalf of the organisation and recognise the employee’s contributions. Remember that some colleagues may have been close to the deceased. Individuals will be impacted differently.

As part of your wellbeing approach, consider signposting to support such as:

  • mental health first aiders;
  • a named point of contact in HR;
  • your employee assistance programmes;
  • bereavement charity helplines;
  • counselling services.

You may want to use your discretion and allow staff to take the remainder of the day as paid compassionate leave to process this difficult news. This can offer emotional support while helping reduce the risk of workplace errors at a difficult time.

Workload redistribution should be managed carefully. Whilst business continuity is important, avoid placing immediate additional pressure on grieving colleagues.

5. Internal Policies and Plans

If your organisation does not have a formal policy to guide the response to an employee’s death, consider preparing an internal plan of action between HR and senior management.

Setting out a clear approach to communication both externally and internally ensures that those responsible are informed and supported and that sensitive matters are handled consistently and compassionately.

For further information or support on the above topics, please contact our Employment Team who would be happy to assist.