Changes to Neonatal Care Leave

From 6 April 2025, the Government will introduce a new statutory right to neonatal care leave.  

The purpose of this is to provide additional support for parents who need to take time off work to care for their newborn baby who requires extended hospital care. Subject to certain eligibility requirements, neonatal care leave may be paid.

Why is this change in law so important? 

Parents will now receive support in the form of paid time off if their baby is receiving medical care. They do not have to worry about using up maternity, paternity or shared parental leave at a time when they are having to spend time at hospital.  

What is Neonatal Care?

Neonatal care is the type of care a baby born premature or sick receives in a neonatal unit. Units are a part of hospitals which provide care for babies soon after they are born. The word ‘neonatal’ means newborn, or the first 28 days of life. 

Over 90,000 babies are born premature or sick and in need of neonatal care in the UK each year.

This new statutory right is expected to support 60,000 new parents a year as it is estimated that around 40,000 babies spend over one week in neonatal care each year.

How does the law define ‘Neonatal Care’?

For the purposes of the legislation, neonatal care is defined as any of the following:

• Medical care received in a hospital

• Medical care received in any other place following discharge from the hospital where the child remains under consultant care and the care includes ongoing monitoring and visits from healthcare professionals

• Palliative or end of life care

Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 (the Act)

On 20 January 2025, the draft Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025 were published. These come into force on 6 April 2025 and apply where a baby is born on or after 6 April 2025.

The draft Regulations cover key issues including the definition of neonatal care, the categories of parents entitled to it and the notice requirements. Also published on 20 January 2025 were the draft Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (General) Regulations 2025.

Neonatal Care Leave (NCL) 

As of 6 April there will be a ‘day one right’ for parents to receive Neonatal Care Leave (NCL) if: 

(i)   a baby is born on or after 6 April 2025

(ii)  receives neonatal care starting within 28 days of birth; and

(iii)  goes on to spend 7 or more continuous days in care.

How much leave is the employee entitled to?

An employee is entitled to take one week of NCL in respect of each week that the baby receives uninterrupted neonatal care. This is capped at a maximum of 12 weeks of leave.

What about multiple births

In the case of twins or multiple births, neonatal care leave cannot be claimed in relation to babies who are receiving treatment at the same time. For example, where twins are in neonatal care for the same 3 week period, the parents would only be entitled to 3 weeks of NCL.

Who is considered a parent?

The right to take NCL only applies to:

• the baby’s parent

• the baby’s intended parent (relevant to surrogacy)

• the partner of the baby’s mother (who is unrelated to the baby’s mother and is living with them in an enduring family relationship)

• the baby’s adopter or prospective adopter (or partner of the same) and

• have or expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the child.

Who is eligible to receive Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP)?

An employee must have been employed for a period of 26 weeks to be entitled to Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP).

In the sad circumstances where the child dies, the requirements are modified so that the employee is no longer required to be taking leave to care for the child. This preserves the entitlement to accrued NCL upon the death of the child. At this point the employee may also be entitled to parental bereavement leave and pay.

When exactly can NCL be taken?

• NCL may be taken from the day after the first qualifying period (7 days starting the day after the neonatal care starts).  In simple terms, this means on day nine of the baby receiving neonatal care.

• NCL must be taken within 68 weeks of the baby’s birth, with the basic principle being that this leave would be added on to the end of the employee’s family leave entitlement (e.g. maternity or paternity leave).

What if the employee has already started / in a period of family leave

If the employee is already taking statutory family leave then the employee may add the period of NCL onto the end of that leave.

Periods of NCL

The legislation categorises periods of NCL as ‘tier 1’ or ‘tier 2’ periods.

 (i)  Tier 1 period is when NCL is taken whilst a baby is receiving neonatal care and can be split up and taken in continuous blocks of 1 week at a time.

(ii)  Tier 2 is all other leave and must be taken in one continuous block.

Example: A father begins NCL, this is interrupted by paternity leave and the neonatal care ends during the paternity leave. The father can then only take the remaining NCK as tier tow, in one interrupted block and must give notice to the employer.

Notifying the employer

The employee must notify their employer. They must provide the following information

(i)   name,

(ii)  child’s date of birth,

(iii)  date(s) that the child started to receive neonatal care and,

(iv)  if the child is no longer receiving that care, the date on which it ended.

(v)  the date on which they want the NCL to begin (the length of the required notice period will differ depending on when the leave is being taken, for example where notice is given whilst a child is receiving neonatal care the notice required is minimal and does not need to be in writing). 

The employer and employee may agree to waive the notice requirements.

Enhanced redundancy protection rights

Where an employee has been on NCL for a period of 6 continuous weeks they will also benefit from enhanced redundancy protection rights which covers the period from the day after the employee has taken 6 weeks of leave and ending when the child is 18 months old.

Employer takeaways

This legislation will apply from 6 April 2025 and employers are reminded to ensure that relevant policies are in place and that staff are trained on this new family friendly leave.

As NCL is paid (and the entitlement to statutory maternity pay ends at 39) employers may see employees on maternity leave choosing to end their maternity leave at 39 weeks and then move on to NCL which has the potential to provide a further 12 weeks of paid leave.

Employers will also have to consider those who have taken NCL for priory status when it comes to redundancy protection which continues until the child in relation to which the NCL was taken is 18 months old.

Record keeping will be key to ensuring that protection period and rights are properly informed.

Other considerations

Experiencing birth of a baby who then needs neonatal care can be a shock for parents and affect the emotional and physical wellbeing of parents. Employers are reminded of their obligations in respect of the same.