Funeral directors make arrangements for burials or cremations.

Their duties include:

• taking details from relatives or friends of the deceased and 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 and obituaries in the press
• advising on legal requirements and helping clients complete paperwork
• advising on Coroners' procedures if necessary
• 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, and making sure everything runs smoothly during the ceremony 
• advising on types of memorial.

Hours and Environment

As a funeral director you will be on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Your working hours will vary, and you may be on a rota system. Most of your administration will done during office hours, but you will often need to visit relatives in the evenings or at weekends.

Attending funerals can involve being outdoors in all weathers.

Skills and Interests

To be a funeral director you should:

• be able to deal with people of all ages and from a variety of social backgrounds
• be caring, understanding and sympathetic without becoming personally affected by clients' distress
• have a serious and dignified manner and a smart, conventional appearance
• be able to pay attention to detail
• have good management skills and excellent administrative and organisational ability
• have an understanding and acceptance of different religious beliefs and of people with no belief.

Entry

To become a funeral director you will need thorough knowledge of all aspects of the service. Therefore it can be useful to begin as a funeral service operative, so that you can:

• gain experience and on-the-job training in the day-to-day tasks involved in funeral arrangement
• possibly study for the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) Foundation Certificate in Funeral Service.

There are some large organisations that provide funeral services, but many firms are small local businesses. You are more likely to find work in a large organisation as small funeral businesses tend to be family concerns.

Funeral directors often have to drive, so it will be useful, and sometimes essential, to have a full driving licence. You may need to be over 21 or 25 to get insurance to drive a hearse or limousine.

You can download a leaflet The Funeral Service as a Career from the NAFD website. See Further Information below for a link to the website.

Training

When you begin work in the funeral service you will usually be trained on the job, supervised by experienced workers. 

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

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

The courses are taught throughout the UK by tutors registered with the British Institute of Funeral Directors. You can get further details and a list of registered tutors from the NAFD - see Further Information below for contact details.

The NAFD and the University of Bath's Centre for Death and Society have developed a new Foundation Degree for Funeral Directors. To find out more see Further Information below for a link to the university website.

For general information about foundation degrees see Foundation Degree Forward

You could also train in embalming. Please see the Embalmer profile for information about embalming qualifications.

Opportunities

Funeral services are run by either small, often family, businesses or by larger organisations with a number of branches.

With larger companies, you may have prospects of promotion to branch, area and regional management. In small firms, promotion prospects are very limited.

Annual Income

The annual income section is intended as a guideline only.

Funeral directors may earn from around £14,000 to around £21,000.

Further information

Anubis House
21c Station Road
Knowle
Solihull
West Midlands
B93 0HL
Tel: 01564 778991 618 Warwick Road
Solihull
West Midlands
B91 1AA
Tel: 0845 230 1343