If an employee came to you tomorrow morning, red-eyed, and told you their dog had died — what would you do? There’s no legal entitlement to pet bereavement leave in the UK, but that doesn’t make the answer straightforward. In this episode, Sarah and Claire work through what small business owners should actually consider when a member of staff loses a pet: whether to offer time off, whether to pay for it, whether a formal bereavement policy helps or just creates rigidity, and why how you handle these moments says more about your culture than almost anything in your employee handbook. Practical, honest, and grounded in real HR experience — including a few stories you won’t forget.