Co-op has introduced a new flexible compassionate leave policy, which allows managers the discretion to allow employees up to ten days paid leave.

This is double the number of leave allowed under the previous policy. Leave can be taken when needed at any time, regardless of the relationship to the person who has died.

The retailer has also introduced a support pack for employees affected by grief and a guide for managers about bereavement and loss.

The policy was developed in partnership with UK charity Cruse Bereavement Support and will be made publicly available to encourage other companies to adopt similar approaches.

Research commissioned by the Co-op with YouGov found that 62 per cent of employees think bereavement should be treated as workplace issue with support available for colleagues and over half of employees across workplaces in the UK say bereavement leave is an important issue.

“Here at Co-op, we want to support our colleagues when someone close to them dies or is seriously ill. We want everyone to ask for the support they need and will always handle things as sensitively as possible,” said Claire Costello, chief people and inclusion officer at Co-op.

She added: “We know that modern life can be complicated, so there are no restrictions about the relationships or situations that we give compassionate leave for. We also know that the death of someone close, or finding out about a terminal diagnosis, can affect people in different ways, so our new compassionate leave policy provides the right support to everyone.”

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