A Christchurch mother whose 27 year old daughter was killed in a tragic crash in Auckland has launched a petition calling for New Zealand’s minimum bereavement leave entitlement to increase from 3 days to 10.

Lauren Hemens died on 9 June 2023 after she was struck by a ute while walking to work.

Her mother, Sheena Hemens, said the devastating phone call shattered her family’s world forever.

 

“She was taken to hospital and they tried to revive her, but to no avail,” Hemens said.

Lauren had been preparing to launch her career as a fashion designer.

“She was a beautiful, intelligent and vibrant young woman who was unapologetically herself,” Hemens said.

“She liked to have fun, but she worked hard. She was in love and life was great, and then it wasn’t.”

Hemens said the reality of grief made the country’s current bereavement leave laws feel cruelly inadequate.

“3 days was never going to be enough,” she said.

“We had to go to Auckland to get Lauren and bring her home before we could even organise a funeral.”

Hemens said the grief consumed every part of her life.

“There was not a lot of sleep going on after Lauren died,” she said.

“Everything about you changes. The person you were before no longer exists.”

After spending years trying to survive the trauma, Hemens said she reached a point where she wanted to stop other families experiencing the same pressure to return to work while still in deep shock.

“It’s not a political issue to me. This is a human issue,” she said.

Hemens said many employers already understood grieving staff could not simply return to normal after losing a loved one.

“They know they’re compromising their own business by having people back in the workplace pretending to function when actually they are hurt and grieving,” she said.

She said New Zealand had recognised the need for extended leave in other traumatic situations, but bereaved parents were still legally entitled to only 3 days.

“We’ve got 10 days for family violence leave. We’ve even got 3 days for miscarriage leave, but if your child dies it’s still 3 days. How is that right?”

Hemens said if Lauren’s memory helped change the law for other grieving families, it would mean everything to her family.

“That would be amazing. It would feel to me and the rest of our family like she did not die in vain.”