Bill Granting 10-Day Paid ‘Mourning’ Leave Filed in Congress

Two lawmakers in the Lower House filed a bill seeking to grant employees a 10-day paid ‘grieving’ leave.

This comes as Tingog Sinirangan party-list Representatives Yedda Romualdez and Jude Acidre filed House Bill 2345, or the Bereavement Leave Act of 2022, which aims to “allow the employee to take a leave from work to grieve and recover from the loss without sacrificing his income.”

Current leaves granted for employees are service incentive leave, parental leave for solo parents, maternity or paternity leave, and special leave for women and leave under the Violence Against Women Act, all of which are statutory leaves, according to the two lawmakers.

The bill aims for an employee availing of the bereavement leave to “be assured of security of tenure,” and will not be used by the employer to enforce a demotion, termination, misconduct, or other unsatisfactory performance penalties to an employee.

Moreover, violators, which may include associations, corporations, partnerships, trust companies, or other entities, shall be fined an amount not exceeding PHP20,000, or imprisonment ranging from 15 days to 1 month, according to the bill.

Moreover, the bill added that the imprisonment penalty would be imposed upon responsible officers of the employing entity such as the chief executive officer, general manager, managing director or partner, president, or vice president.

If the bill successfully becomes a law, employment agencies of the government such as the Department of Labor and Employment and the Civil Service Commission will be the agencies tasked with drafting the rules and regulations for the implementation of the law. (GFB)