When a colleague dies

The death of a colleague can be deeply upsetting and shocking for an organisation. It needs to be handled with sensitivity and compassion.

If the death occurs in the workplace, you must inform the police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). In Northern Ireland, you must report to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI). For more guidance, visit the Government website.

HSE Contact Centre

0845 300 9923
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm

People spend so much time at work that colleagues can develop close relationships. If a colleague dies there is likely to be an emotional reaction, rippling out from that person’s immediate team and touching anyone they worked with. The reaction will likely depend on the closeness of the relationship and the circumstances of the death.

If it was an accident or suicide, people are more likely to feel shock than if someone had been known to be ill.

• Contact the family or closest friends as soon as possible to offer your condolences.
• Make it easy for the family to contact you if they have any questions about pay, or pension arrangements. You may want to assign a designated staff member.
• Allow staff members to have paid time off after the death and to attend the funeral if they wish
• Signpost to support options such as your EAP. Depending on the situation, it may be appropriate to bring a counsellor into your workplace. Find more signposting information here.
• Personal touches like organising a staff meeting or book of condolences can also go a long way to show your support.
• Ask the family and friends about the best way to commemorate the person
• Be considerate of religious beliefs and how diversity might affect the way they’re grieving
• Consider a phased return to work for people who have been affected
• Be aware of the effect the death might have on performance
• Think about ways to remember the person in the workplace and allow all staff members to contribute. This blog can help.

When a work colleague has died, HR can help in particular with

• making sure that legal and payroll duties are handled quickly – there may be death-in-service payment to be processed, for example
• making sure that communication is handled sensitively and quickly
• Having templates and policies in place.

Additional practical guidelines for HR

• Have ready an outline letter of condolence to be completed quickly for a senior manager to send to the family.
• Someone from HR may be the best person to act as liaison with the family over any support to be provided, and to relay information about the funeral to colleagues who need to know.
• Help organise a book of condolence, to offer a chance for everyone who wishes to express their sympathy to the family. HR can play a part in making this happen, working with the person’s closest colleagues and possibly the family too to make sure that this is the right thing under the circumstances and will be welcome.
• Make sure to communicate with the family or loved ones first before any public statements or touching their personal items.
• Help arrange for personal items in the workplace to be returned to the family, or workplace equipment such as a laptop or phone to be returned from home to the organisation.

HR can make sure that close colleagues of the person who has died have access to the information and support they may need, as they will be experiencing bereavement.

It may not be as intense as for a family member but there can still be a profound sense of loss and shock.

Delivering bad news can be stressful for the person doing it as well as distressing for those receiving it. HR can support managers in this task with guidance on how best to go about it.

For example, it helps to think through beforehand where the best place might be. Whether you are talking to one person or to many, you want to do so in a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted, including by phones.

You will want to be sure that you are clear about the facts you are passing on and you will want to prepare your audience, checking what they already know.

If a manager has to deliver bad news to an individual:

• It is best if there can be another person there too to offer support
• They will want to allow enough time for this as it is hard to predict how someone will react news.

If the bad news affects the whole organisation, for example if a senior manager dies, HR will want to lead on the communication to all staff. It is important that the message is as reassuring as possible as well as factual and compassionate.

As soon as the news is known, the employer (probably a senior manager and preferably someone who knew the person) needs to take the lead to make sure that communication takes place quickly and sensitively across the organisation. This avoids colleagues finding out through word of mouth or social media. Having a communication drafted ahead of time can help you deliver the news quickly.

You will also want to let the family know what is being said, especially if there is an internal website or any sort of media contact.

If the person had regular contact with external stakeholders they will need to be informed too.