Loss is a part of life, but sometimes it can happen when you least expect it, says Mike Preston, business development director for ProtectMyPeople.com. With your staff spending so much time together, they will undoubtedly need your compassion and support when a desk becomes empty.
Staff may forget this, but business owners are only human, and they too will sometimes have personal issues to deal with, while also trying to keep a company afloat.
If you're ever starved of an excuse to bag a few hours off work, or are a boss wondering what be a porky pie, here are some of the nation's favourites.
Stats released today suggest that only around a quarter of businesses have a formal bereavement policy in place to make it easier for staff to be absent following the death of a loved one.
