The New Right to Neonatal Care Leave and Pay – What Employers Need to Know

From 6 April 2025, the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 introduces statutory rights for employees whose babies require neonatal care. With around 1 in 7 babies admitted to neonatal care after birth, the government estimates these rights will support 60,000 parents annually. 

This article outlines the key provisions and what employers can do to comply and support affected employees. Further information can be found in the ACAS guide on neonatal leave and pay and in the newly published government guidance aimed at employees and employers.

What is neonatal care?

Neonatal care includes:

• hospital-based medical care; 
• ongoing care post-discharge under consultant supervision, including regular monitoring or healthcare visits; and
• palliative or end-of-life care. 

To qualify for leave and pay under the new provisions, care must begin within 28 days of birth (the day after birth counts as day one) and last at least seven continuous days.

 

Eligibility

To be eligible for neonatal care leave (and potentially pay), the individual must be an employee, take the neonatal leave for the purpose of caring for the baby and have shared or sole responsibility for the child. This includes the:

• birth mother or parent;
• intended parent via surrogacy;
• partner of the baby’s mother; and
• adopter or prospective adopter of the child (or partner of the same).

The new rights apply with regard to babies born on or after 6 April 2025.

Eligibility for neonatal leave and pay differs. Neonatal care leave is a day-one right, with no continuous service requirement, whereas statutory neonatal care pay requires 26 weeks’ continuous service at the end of the “relevant week” (the end of the 15^th week before the expected week of childbirth). 

Only employees (not workers) are eligible for neonatal care leave. The definition of “employee” for the purposes of statutory neonatal care pay, however, is wider which means that some individuals may qualify for it even if they do not qualify for neonatal care leave (provided they comply with the relevant notice requirements).   

 

Leave provisions

Employees are entitled to one week of leave for each week the baby receives neonatal care, with a minimum of one week’s leave granted, up to a maximum of 12 weeks’ leave. The baby must have received at least seven consecutive days (not including the day on which care starts) of neonatal care for neonatal leave entitlement to be triggered. If parents are not yet on maternity/paternity leave, they may need to use alternative leave for those first seven days.

A key characteristic of these provisions is that neonatal care leave can be added to the end of other statutory family leave (e.g. paternity leave).  However, it must be taken within 68 weeks of birth or placement.

There are two tiers of neonatal care leave available:

• Tier 1: During the period while the baby is in neonatal care and one week after the care has ended. This can be taken in weekly blocks and does not necessarily need to be consecutive. It applies in circumstances where the employee is not already on some other family leave whilst the baby is receiving neonatal care.  
• Tier 2: The period outside Tier 1 leave and before the end of 68 weeks from the date of the child’s birth. This must be taken in one continuous block. 

Employees must give notice to exercise their right to neonatal care leave (unless the employee and employer have agreed to waive the notice requirements), which differs depending on the type of leave required:

• Tier 1: Notice is required before the time the employee is due to start work on the first day of absence in that week or, where that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as reasonably practicable.  There is no need for written notice, given the situation is likely to be an emergency.
• Tier 2: For one week of leave, 15 days’ written notice is required.  For two weeks or more, 28 days’ notice must be provided.  

Notices must include certain information, including the employee’s name, the baby’s birth/placement date, the date or dates the child started to receive neonatal care and confirmation that the employee meets the eligibility requirements as to the family relationship with the child.

For many affected employees, providing notice in strict accordance with statutory requirements may be difficult, as the situations are likely to be unforeseen or urgent. Employers therefore have the discretion to waive these notice requirements.  

 

Pay provisions

Statutory neonatal care pay is only available to eligible employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service by the qualifying date (15 weeks before the expected due date or placement).

Eligible employees are entitled receive the lower of £187.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings (subject to tax and NI deductions).  Employers may offer enhanced pay schemes if they wish.

The maximum number of weeks’ statutory neonatal care pay available is 12 weeks, which ties in with the neonatal care leave entitlement.  Pay cannot be for less than a full week.

There are separate notice requirements for statutory neonatal care pay.  Notices should be provided in the following timeframes:

• Tier 1: Written notice within 28 days starting with the first day that the neonatal care pay is being claimed.  
• Tier 2: For one week’s leave and pay, 15 days’ written notice is required (i.e. 15 days before the first day of leave/pay).  For two weeks or more, 28 days’ notice should be provided.  

 

Employer considerations

To comply with the new legislation and provide support to affected employees, employers may wish to consider the following:

1. Policies

Updating existing policies, or introducing a dedicated neonatal care leave policy, can help employees understand the new statutory rights. Employers may also choose to offer more generous provisions than those required by law. Where enhanced entitlements are available, setting these out clearly would reduce the risk of confusion or inconsistent application. A clear policy also supports both compliance and fairness across the organisation.

Including notice templates may assist employees in navigating the statutory process, particularly during what is likely to be a highly stressful time. Training for HR teams and managers on the new policies and provisions can help ensure applications are handled sensitively and in line with the new legal framework.

2. Confidentiality

Notices and communication around neonatal care will likely involve sharing sensitive medical information. Handling this information in line with data protection regulations remains essential. Respecting employees’ wishes about what is shared, and with whom, is equally important.

3. Employment protections

Employers should be aware of the legal protections afforded to those on neonatal care leave, including the following:

• Protection from dismissal: Dismissal on the grounds of taking or planning to take neonatal care leave is automatically unfair.
• Protection from detriment: Unfavourable treatment due to exercising neonatal care rights, such as exclusion from opportunities or adverse changes to working conditions, is prohibited.
• Right to return to the same job: Employees returning from neonatal care leave alone have the right to return to the same job. If they have taken more than 26 weeks of combined neonatal and other statutory leave and there have been significant changes to the organisation, they may be offered a suitable alternative role with the same terms (such as pay, benefits, holiday entitlement, seniority, and location).
• Redundancy protection: Employees on neonatal care leave cannot be selected for redundancy by reason of being on neonatal care leave or because they plan to take neonatal care leave. After six consecutive weeks of neonatal leave, employees have additional protection for a period of 18 months from birth/placement during which they are entitled to priority for suitable alternative roles, similar to maternity protections.

4. Support

Neonatal care situations often bring emotional and practical challenges for employees. Additional support, such as flexible working, access to counselling or employee assistance programmes and regular check-ins, can help support employees during what is an incredibly challenging time.   

 

Further information

If you have any questions or concerns about the topics raised in this article, please contact a member of the Employment Team.  

About the author

Niki combines technical rigour with commercial nous and a pragmatic, strategic approach to place clients in the best possible position to avoid litigation, initiate claims or, for employers, provide a strong defence to any claims and reach favourable resolutions. As a testament to her expertise, Niki is also recognised by Chambers and Partners, UK 2024 and in their 2024 Global Guide.

Zoe is a trainee solicitor and is currently in her fourth seat with the Employment team.