An employer can demonstrate that their organisation is proactively working to support bereaved employees by displaying the Bereavement Charter Mark on their website or within their buildings.
Having the charter mark on your website demonstrates that you are working to make your community a place where people who are bereaved feel supported by the people around them.
To qualify to display the mark, an employer must first agree to meet at least three of the following criteria:
1. All staff are informed that their organisation, department or team is endorsing the Bereavement Charter and given an opportunity to watch the following short films about bereavement:
2. All Managers within the organisation, department or team have read the "Resources for Managers, Colleagues and Employers' section of the Scottish Bereavement Friendly Workplaces Toolkit.
3. Senior Management has developed/adopted a Bereavement Policy for the organisation. (The ACAS Example Bereavement Policy provides a useful guide.
4. The organisation, department or team has set out ways that it will visibly promote more awareness of bereavement and bereavement support, for example through its website and social media channels.
5. The organisation, department or team has/will develop and display a local workplace bereavement charter.
It can be difficult to introduce meaningful change quickly across large, complex organisations. For this reason, the charter mark is designed for small organisations, or teams or departments within larger organisations. If your team or department has met the above criteria, you can apply for the charter mark, and receive a charter mark personalised for your team or department. Larger organisations may wish to work towards the charter mark on a department by department basis.
Once you've achieved the bereavement charter mark you keep it for three years. Every three years the organisation should review its endorsement of the Charter Mark and its ability to meet the above criteria.
If your organisation would like to apply to display the bereavement charter mark, please complete this form and email it to rebecca@palliativecarescotland.org.uk.
More information for employers is available here: Bereavement Charter for Scotland: Employer's Guide
