More firms should offer 'heartache leave'

A US divorce lawyer has responded to a Japanese firm's decision to offer its employees 'heartache leave' by offering advice to those going through a legal separation.

Stacy Phillips, a celebrity divorce attorney and author, believes that this new leave offered by Hime and Company is just as necessary as maternity or sick leave. He has asserted that more companies should follow suit and offer similar leave so that staff members can grieve properly following a break up.

Mr Phillips has suggested that dealing with the immediate grief and shock associated with the end of a relationship can take around one to three days, although this is only really enough to cope with initial feelings.

He explained: "A break up is a loss, a death and processing the five steps of loss according to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance - takes time. Employers are moving in the right direction."

Lonely and don't want to be?