Northern Ireland has removed the expiry date from its Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay framework. In S.R. 2026 No. 58, sealed by the Department for the Economy on 19 March 2026, regulation 37 (Expiry) in the 2023 rules is deleted, meaning the scheme no longer sunsets. In practice, employers should treat parental bereavement pay as an ongoing statutory duty in Northern Ireland from the day after the rule was made.

Substantively, the entitlement remains what payroll teams know: two weeks’ statutory pay funded by the employer for eligible parents following a child’s death, stillbirth or miscarriage, with reimbursement available through HMRC. The amendment sits alongside a wider package taking effect in early April that extends coverage to miscarriage and removes the old service requirement for pay, creating a single, clearer set of rights for Northern Ireland employees. (economy-ni.gov.uk)

Costs are also moving. The standard statutory family-pay rate is scheduled to rise to £194.32 per week from Sunday 5 April 2026, in line with Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Pay. Finance managers should roll that into FY2026–27 forecasts and adjust any accrual models that still assume £187.18. Official guidance for NI employers confirms the new rate. (nibusinessinfo.co.uk)

Cashflow remains manageable because employers recover statutory parental payments through the Employer Payment Summary. The default recovery is 92% for most employers; small employers can reclaim 100% plus compensation, which HMRC lifted to 8.5% from 6 April 2025. That uplift applies across statutory family payments, including parental bereavement pay, and should be reflected in EPS configuration and monthly working capital forecasts. (gov.uk)

If meeting the upfront payment is difficult, HMRC can advance funds. You still need to send an EPS for each pay period you reclaim, even where you received an advance. Keep record‑keeping tight: report the period covered and reconcile recovery values back to payroll journals to avoid year‑end exceptions. (gov.uk)

Eligibility is being simplified from Monday 6 April 2026. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay in Northern Ireland becomes a day‑one right, and the same two weeks’ protected leave and statutory pay extend to miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy. The Department for the Economy confirms notice will be by self‑declaration, without medical evidence, and leave can be taken in one block or two separate weeks within 56 weeks. Build those rules into HR templates and manager playbooks now. (economy-ni.gov.uk)

Payroll systems need tweaks specific to Northern Ireland. HMRC’s RTI specifications for 2026/27 add dedicated EPS fields to capture statutory parental bereavement pay and the associated NIC compensation in NI, supporting clearer audit trails. Vendors are also flagging separate reporting for miscarriage‑related payments versus other bereavement cases, so test end‑to‑end files before April payrolls run. (bookkeepers.org.uk)

Scope matters for groups with mixed UK footprints. The extended miscarriage entitlement and day‑one right apply to employees gainfully employed in Northern Ireland and for whom the employer pays Class 1 National Insurance to HMRC; Great Britain rules are unchanged. UK‑wide firms should confirm work‑location logic and NI postcode flags in HRIS and payroll to avoid misallocating claims. (moorepay.co.uk)

For finance teams, the removal of the sunset is a planning win. Treat statutory parental bereavement pay as a standing item in benefits budgets; use the 108.5% small‑employer recovery where eligible; and time EPS submissions to smooth VAT quarter and PAYE payments. Where claims are frequent, consider creating a dedicated balance‑sheet control to track recoveries against gross awards to reduce audit queries. (gov.uk)

Key dates anchor the transition. The expiry removal took effect immediately after 19 March 2026, the new weekly statutory rate applies from 5 April 2026, and day‑one and miscarriage provisions commence on 6 April 2026. Align policy documents, manager guidance and payroll software by those dates, and brief line managers on the self‑declaration process to reduce friction at a sensitive time for staff. (nibusinessinfo.co.uk)