We have an employee who we sponsor on a skilled worker visa. The employee has put in a written request to take 3 weeks annual leave to return to Nigeria to attend to her mother's funeral and buriel arrangements. The mother died on 5 April but has asked for 3 weeks from 23 May! Whilst we are sympathetic towards our employees when bereaved, the dates requested are 7 weeks after the passing. I would appreciate feedback from fellow professionals of Nigerian descent who can confirm if this is part of their culture. No disrespect intended but genuinely interested to get feedback.
A quick google gives the below info. I think you're probably best off speaking to the employee to understand their request?
"Ongoing Until Ceremony
Finalize service details with religious leaders.
Coordinate catering for potentially hundreds of guests.
Arrange traditional music, dancers, or performers.
Prepare printed programs and obituary notices.
Handle all legal documentation.
This timeline can stretch from one week to several months depending on family circumstances, available funds, and how elaborate the ceremony will be.
Igbo traditions sometimes include a two-phase burial process for prominent elders. The first burial happens soon after death. The second ceremony, called Ikwa Ozu, occurs months or years later as a grand celebration of the person's life and achievements.
Hausa-Fulani families, following Islamic law, usually complete burial within 24 hours of death. Relatives perform the ritual washing, wrap the deceased in simple white shrouds, and place them directly in the grave without a coffin.
Afterward, families may holdfidauprayers on the third, seventh, fortieth, or even hundredth day, depending on local and family traditions."
I'm not sure why this is suspicious - isn't your employee entitled to use her leave as she needs or wants to? Is the concern that she hasn't given enough notice or that is an awkward time for your organisation or something else?
is this purely a request to take part of normal annual leave entitlement or is there any particular bereavement leave involved too? If the former, as has been said, it’s not usually up to the employee to justify or verify the reasons for needing to take leave. But if it involves special bereavement leave it’s a bit more delicate- personally I wouldn’t be demanding evidence unless I strongly suspected it was not true. Bearing in mind that a visit all the way to Nigeria is involved anyway, so three weeks in one go is fairly reasonable in such circumstances.
Our company policy is that leave requests over 15 days need senior management approval. I was just curious about the time difference between the death and the funeral. The leave will be approved and as a company we're not uncompassionate and we would not ask for proof.
Hello Samantha, this is where local context really matters. In Nigeria, burial ceremonies, especially for an elder or aged parent, are not a single-day event. They typically span one to two weeks of activities, including the wake, funeral service, thanksgiving, and family meetings to settle estate matters. These are deeply communal and often obligatory within extended family structures.
Beyond the burial itself, there are also post-burial family gatherings, legal/administrative arrangements, and cultural rites that can extend the process significantly. Add international travel logistics on top of that, and a three-week request is very reasonable and culturally consistent.
The 7-week gap between the death date and the leave start may also reflect the time needed to arrange travel, coordinate family across locations, and plan the ceremony. Nigerian funerals are often scheduled weeks in advance to allow relatives to travel from abroad.
From a cultural perspective, this would not raise any concerns for me.
Hi Samantha My aunt died in early October and it took us several weeks so her funeral wasn't until late November. That's in the UK. And we're still settling up her estate 2.5 years later and it's likely to go on for another several months....
Top tip, get a wet copy of the written will lodged somewhere safe, preferably in a bank vault or something - it's been horrendous!
Hi Samantha, I am a British born Nigerian. Both my parents are Nigerian. When my father passed a few years ago he passed in Nigeria in the September however all the arrangements, village meetings, logistics regarding coordinating things between UK and Nigeria took several months as my father was a highly respected elder of our village even though he lived here - customs continue regardless of where you reside. His celebration of life (burial) took place 3 months later in the December. There are many different tribes in Nigeria and therefore Sophie with respect it is not something that I would rely on from Google.
Nigerian culture is heavily reliant and dependant on relatives coming together from wherever they may reside and following custom that dates back many centuries and not easily explained in a short few sentences, there are also responsibilities on certain members of the family that must be adhered to and often very high finances involved.
In this instance I certainly understand the request and time difference, Samantha. I'm glad you asked rather than jump to assumptions.
Oh absolutely - my reference to Google was that a quick search gives indication of that variability and that longer timelines than UK culture should be expected. Therefore speaking to the employee is the best approach given they are the best source of knowledge on their culture!
