Funeral director Job Information | National Careers Service

The work

As a funeral director, your day-to-day tasks would normally include:

• taking details from relatives or friends of the deceased
• arranging for transfer of the body to the place of rest before the funeral
• meeting with relatives or friends to give advice and arrange details of the funeral
• arranging the date and time of the funeral with the church, cemetery or crematorium
• organising flowers, transport and death notices
• advising on legal requirements and helping clients complete paperwork
• preparing the body for burial or cremation
• arranging visits to the place of rest
• dealing with floral tributes and charitable donations
• travelling in the hearse at the time of the funeral
• making sure that everything runs smoothly during the ceremony
• advising on types of memorials, such as headstones.

You may also give people advice about coroners' procedures if necessary.

Hours

Your working hours would vary, and you could be on a rota system. Most of your administration work would be done during office hours, but you would often need to visit clients in the evenings or at weekends. You would be on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Attending funerals involves being outdoors in all weather conditions.

Income

Funeral directors can earn from around £15,000 to over £30,000 a year.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

You may find it useful to begin as a funeral service operative. This would enable you to gain experience and knowledge of all aspects of the work, and have on-the-job training.

As a funeral service operative you may be able to study for the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) Foundation Certificate in Funeral Service. See the NAFD website for details.

• National Association of Funeral Directors – education and training page.

(Please note: registrations for this entry-level course are no longer being taken. A revised short pre-entry qualification will replace the current Foundation Certificate and will be available in late Spring 2012. Check the NAFD website for further details.)

Training and development

When you begin work you would usually receive on-the-job training and supervision from experienced staff.

You could also study for qualifications in funeral directing offered by the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD). The courses are at three levels:

• Foundation Certificate in Funeral Service – for operatives and assistants, and funeral directors who intend to study for the Diploma in Funeral Directing
• Diploma in Funeral Directing (DipFD) – for funeral directors with a Foundation Certificate and a minimum of two years' experience
• Diploma in Funeral Service Management (DipFSM).

The British Institute of Funeral Directors (BIFD) is responsible for providing tutors for these qualifications. See the BIFD website for contact details of registered tutors. You can study part-time or by distance learning.

• British Institute of Funeral Directors - Find a Tutor page

You could also train in embalming.

Please see the embalmer job profile for more information.

• embalmer

Skills and knowledge

To be a funeral director, you should have:

• excellent communication and people skills
• a serious and dignified manner
• a smart appearance
• the ability to deal sensitively with distressing situations
• attention to detail
• excellent administration and organisational abilities
• an acceptance of different religious beliefs.

More information

National Association of Funeral Directors
618 Warwick Road
Solihull
West Midlands
B91 1AA
Tel: 0845 230 1343
www.nafd.org.uk

British Institute of Funeral Directors (BIFD)
www.bifd.org.uk

British Institute of Embalmers
Anubis House
21c Station Road
Knowle
Solihull
West Midlands
B93 0HL
Tel: 01564 778991
www.bioe.co.uk

Opportunities

Funeral services are provided either by small businesses or by larger organisations with a number of branches. You are more likely to find work at large organisations, as small businesses tend to be family firms with very few vacancies.

With experience you could become a tutor, preparing students for National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) qualifications. See the British Institute of Funeral Directors website for details of tutor training.

• British Institute of Funeral Directors

With larger organisations, you may have prospects of promotion to branch, area and regional management.

Vacancies in larger organisations are advertised in Funeral Director Monthly, The Funeral Service Journal, and sometimes in newspapers or in Jobcentre Plus offices.

• Funeral Director Monthly
• Funeral Service Journal