Meaning & use
compassionate leave
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
Paid or unpaid time away from work that an employer allows so you can deal with a death or serious illness in your family.
Grammar: Usually no article: she took compassionate leave.
Patterns
- take compassionate leave
- compassionate leave for something
- be granted compassionate leave
Mara was given three days of compassionate leave after her grandfather died.
You can ask your manager about compassionate leave if a close relative is seriously ill.
The company's policy on compassionate leave is set out in the staff handbook.
Common combinations
- take compassionate leave
- He had to take compassionate leave to fly home for the funeral.
- be granted compassionate leave
- She was granted compassionate leave at very short notice.
- apply for compassionate leave
- Staff must apply for compassionate leave through their line manager.
- paid compassionate leave
- The firm offers five days of paid compassionate leave.
- on compassionate leave
- Our team lead is on compassionate leave until Monday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bereavement leave
- This is the usual American term and focuses only on a death, whereas compassionate leave can also cover a relative's serious illness.
- family leave
- This is broader and often covers planned events like caring for a newborn, while compassionate leave is for sudden, distressing circumstances.
- emergency leave
- This stresses urgency of any kind, not necessarily family grief or illness.
Word family
- compassion noun
- sympathy for someone who is suffering
- compassionate adjective
- feeling or showing concern for others' suffering
- compassionately adverb
- in a kind and caring way
- leave noun
- permitted time away from work
Commonly confused: compassionate leave or sick leave?
compassionate leave vs sick leave
Sick leave is for your own illness; compassionate leave is for the illness or death of someone close to you.
Practice
Rosa's father died suddenly, so her employer allowed her five days of ___ to arrange the funeral.
Choose one answer.
Compassionate leave covers time off after a relative's death. Sick leave is tempting but is for the employee's own illness.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “compassionate leave”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.