ASK HR: How should the HR department handle the death of an employee?

The death of a colleague can be quite devastating, and you raise a good question on the kind of support that ought not be overlooked by the employer. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • I am sure we have all heard of cases where families have faced financial hardships while their loved one’s money awaits legal administration.
  • Some employee welfare groups understand that an employer may not meet all immediate needs of a departed colleague and have their own support mechanism to support their members.

 

Q. I work in HR at a local company. Should an employee die of natural causes at work, for instance have a heart attack, what are the procedures to follow? Also, should the company pay funeral expenses and compensate the family? Secondly, should an employee die while on duty outside his/her working area due to sickness or an accident, how is HR supposed to handle this?

 

The death of a colleague can be quite devastating, and you raise a good question on the kind of support that ought not be overlooked by the employer.

The nature of death does not matter, whether is was due to illness, an accident, murder or suicide, he/she was your employee and support should be given to immediate family and colleagues without bias at this time when they need it most. Other legal and administrative matters can be sorted out after immediate needs are addressed, including counselling for close colleagues and immediate family.

Most organisations have policy guidelines on how to support bereaved families when an employee dies. How an employer treats the family of a departed colleague can easily affect engagement and motivation of remaining colleagues, and it is the responsibility of HR to advise management on the right support, whether cash or in kind, that employees would find acceptable. The policies will also be clear on what benefits would be paid to the family, including unpaid salaries, allowances, gratuities and unpaid leave. Life and accident insurance benefits would also be included. It is at this point the nature of death becomes relevant in reference to the terms and conditions of insurance. All benefits should be paid to the next of kin as per employee records, and so will pension where applicable.

While employers take last expense insurance cover for their employees to manage their costs, some employees take additional cover to shield their families from financial burden associated with burials. Just like there are many medical insurance schemes in the market, so are last expense insurance covers - employers should enlighten their employees about this. It is also important to ensure employees update their next of kin records for ease of transferring benefits to rightful beneficiaries. I am sure we have all heard of cases where families have faced financial hardships while their loved one’s money awaits legal administration. Some employee welfare groups understand that an employer may not meet all immediate needs of a departed colleague and have their own support mechanism to support their members.