Statutory neonatal care leave and pay came into effect on 6 April 2025. Here's how employers can ensure compliance and support their employees.
Read moreStatutory neonatal care leave and pay came into effect on 6 April 2025 via the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay Act) 2023 and its various secondary legislation including the Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025 and the Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (General) Regulations 2025. The aim of this legislation is to provide additional support to employees whose babies need neonatal care.
Here, experienced employment lawyer Susan McKenzie explains the main elements of the new statutory neonatal care leave and pay entitlement and how employers can ensure compliance and support their employees.
What is neonatal care?
For the purposes of neonatal care leave and pay, neonatal care refers to medical care provided to a newborn which starts within the first 28 days of birth (counting from the day after birth).
According to regulation 4 of the Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025 neonatal care are:
- medical care received in a hospital,
- medical care received in any other place which meets the following criteria —
- the child was an inpatient in hospital and the care is received upon that child leaving hospital;
- the care is under the direction of a consultant; and
- the care includes ongoing monitoring by, and visits to the child from, healthcare professionals arranged by the hospital […]; and
- palliative or end of life care.
Neonatal care leave
Under the new law, parents are entitled to neonatal care leave while their baby is receiving neonatal care.
Eligibility and entitlement
Neonatal care leave is a day one right for employees (i.e. no qualifying period of employment is required) whose babies are born on or after 6 April 2025 where that baby is in receipt of the type of care outlined above.
In this context, employees who fall into one of the following categories will be entitled to take neonatal care leave:
- a parent of the child
- the partner of the child’s mother
- an intended parent (in surrogacy arrangements)
- the child’s adopter or prospective adopter
- the partner of any of the above at the date of the child’s birth or at the date of placement by a UK adoption agency or, in the case of adoptions from overseas, the date the child entered the UK.
That individual will also have or expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the child and must be taking the leave to care for the child.
For neonatal care leave to apply, the baby must start neonatal care within 28 days of birth (counting from the day after the baby is born) and that care must continue uninterrupted for a minimum of seven days (beginning with the day after neonatal care starts).
Where a baby is adopted, only the time spent in neonatal care after the baby was placed for adoption with the employee or, in the case of overseas adoptions, after the date the baby enters Great Britain counts as time spent receiving neonatal care for the purposes of this legislation.
Employees are entitled to one week of neonatal care leave for each week their baby receives neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. For 'tier 1' leave (see below) the leave can be taken in one continuous period or split into multiple periods of one or more whole weeks. For ’tier 2’ leave (see below), an employee can only take the leave in one continuous period.
Neonatal care leave must be taken before the end of the period of 68 weeks, starting with the date on which the child was born or in the case of adoption, the end of 68 weeks from the date of placement. For overseas adoption, this is 68 weeks from the date that the baby enters Great Britain.
The entitlement to neonatal care leave is on top of other family leave entitlements and cannot be taken at the same time as other leave.
‘Tier 1’ and ‘tier 2’ notice requirements
Neonatal care leave is divided into two tiers with different notice requirements.
‘Tier 1’
This covers the period that the baby is receiving neonatal care and the seven-day period after neonatal care ends. During this period, employees can notify their employer of their intention to take neonatal care leave, on or before the time they would be due to start work, on the day they wish to start the leave. This notice does not have to be given in writing due to the often-unexpected nature of neonatal care.
‘Tier 2’
The subsequent period is known as 'tier 2' and runs from the end of 'tier 1' until 68 weeks after the date of birth. Within the 'tier 2' period, employees must provide advance notice of leave as follows:
- 15 days' notice for one week of leave.
- 28 days' notice for two or more weeks of leave.
The notice must be given in writing and provide certain required information.
Protection from detriment and dismissal
Employees have the right not to suffer detriment or dismissal as a result of taking or planning to take neonatal care leave.
Neonatal care pay
Employees may qualify for statutory neonatal care pay during their leave if they meet certain criteria, including having at least 26 weeks of continuous employment by the “relevant week” and earning above the Lower Earnings Limit set by the Government.
Statutory neonatal care pay is paid at the same rate as statutory paternity pay and payable for up to 12 weeks.
ACAS and government guidance on neonatal care leave and pay
ACAS guidance and government guidance are available to assist employers and employees.
Practical steps for employers
To ensure you comply with the new law and your employees understand their new entitlements, employers should take the following steps:
Review and update policies
Review and update your existing family leave policies to ensure that they include provisions for neonatal care leave and pay. We’d specifically recommend having a neonatal care leave policy. This should include details of eligibility criteria, notification requirements and the process for applying for leave. It should also cover eligibility relating to neonatal care pay, how much it will be and for how long it will be payable. We’d suggest making it as easy as possible for your employees to give notice to take ‘tier 2’ leave by having a form that prompts the employee to provide the relevant required information. If you’d like support with drafting or reviewing policies to ensure compliance, our employment law team is on hand to support you. Contact us today.
Communicate with employees
It's crucial to communicate the new entitlements to your employees, ensuring that they are aware of their rights and the process for requesting neonatal care leave and pay. This can be done through internal communications (in different formats), issuing the new and updated policies and providing training sessions.
Train managers and HR / People teams
It’s important to train managers and HR / People teams on the new entitlements and your policies so that they’re prepared to handle requests for neonatal care leave and pay effectively. This includes understanding the eligibility criteria, notification requirements and how to process applications.
Offer support to employees
If an employee needs to take advantage of neonatal care leave, consider if you can provide any additional support during this critical time. For example, you may be able to offer counselling and other services via an employee assistance programme or other source and/or flexible working arrangements. It goes without saying, of course, that this is a sensitive issue and employees should be treated in an empathetic way.
Enhanced financial support
Statutory neonatal care leave and pay is the baseline for employers to provide. If possible, consider whether you can offer enhanced company neonatal pay in the same way as you may offer enhanced pay for other family leave.
As neonatal care leave and pay is not available for the first seven days of neonatal care, consider also whether you could allow employees to take paid ‘special’ leave for that time. For those employees who don’t have sufficient continuous employment to benefit from statutory neonatal care pay, consider whether you could allow them to benefit from the equivalent of statutory neonatal care pay for any neonatal care leave that they take.
Talk to us
Employers can take proactive steps to ensure compliance with the changes to neonatal care and offer appropriate support to employees during challenging times.
Talk to our team of experienced employment lawyers for support with navigating neonatal care leave and communicating changes with your employees. Call us on 0333 004 4488, email us on hello@brabners.com or complete our contact form below.
Talk to us
Loading form...
Related insights
The Employment Rights Bill promises to make significant changes to UK employment law. Our lawyers share their recommendations on how employers can prepare.
Read more
Reforms to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) present significant challenges and opportunities for businesses. Our lawyers explore your options.
Read more