Compassionate leave is time off given in the instance that something traumatic or difficult happens unexpectedly outside of work. Life can be unpredictable and upsetting circumstances can affect our ability to work as normal.

We want to support you by offering you 10 compassionate days off per year.

Why you might take compassionate leave:

• Someone you love dies or is terminally ill
• Someone close to you, e.g., a partner, is experiencing grief or terminal illness
• Taking time off for particular occasions, e.g., to attend a funeral or the birthday or anniversary of someone close to you who has died
• Pregnancy loss, such as miscarriage, abortion, or stillbirth, including for partners or surrogate mothers
• Something traumatic happens to you

If something else is affecting your ability to work please speak to your People Partner, Jess Tannahill, or your line manager so we can discuss how we can support you.

How we’ll support you:

At Automata you can take up to 2 weeks of paid compassionate leave in a 12-month rolling period.

This leave will not impact your holiday entitlement. If you’re based outside of the UK there may be other statutory requirements, so please speak to Jess Tannahill if you need to take compassionate leave. All compassionate leave should be booked through Hibob.

Grief can be unpredictable, and we trust that you will do what’s right for you. It’s up to you when you’d like to take the time off, whether that’s immediately after something happens, or a little later on. There’s no right or wrong way to grieve. Equally, there’s no obligation to take compassionate leave at all — it’s up to you.

If you need more time, we’ll work together on how best to support you, whether that’s more time off, a phased return, flexible hours or something else.

Spill ❤️

Automata have invested in Spill as an emotional support tool which is free to use for everyone in the business. You can find the Spill app in your sidebar on Slack and a full user guide can be found HERE.