Neo-Natal Care

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Since the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 became law, we have been waiting for regulations to provide the fine details of how this will work in practice. This has now happened with the Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025 and ahead of them coming into force on 6 April 2025 (subject to parliamentary approval)we take a look at what employers need to know about neonatal care leave and pay.

In cases where a child is/was in receipt of neonatal care and the parents’ statutory leave ends, such as paternity or maternity, some parents have been forced to take annual or unpaid leave, or even sick leave, as found in a 2018 survey by the charity, Bliss. There is also evidence that mothers have had to leave their employment at the end of maternity leave as they were not yet ready to return to work.

Neonatal care leave and pay was introduced following campaigning by various groups to fill this gap.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the regulations, which means amendments may still be made to how this leave and pay operates, neonatal care leave and pay will come into force for children born on, or after, 6 April 2025. There is no qualifying service for this leave, however, there is for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay.

To qualify, neonatal care must start before the end of 28 days beginning with the day after the child’s birth. This includes palliative or end of life care, or medical care received in a hospital or another place where:

  • i. the child was an inpatient in hospital and the care is received upon leaving hospital
    ii. the care is under the direction of a consultant
    iii. the care includes ongoing monitoring by, and visits to the child from, healthcare professionals arranged by the hospital.

Employees are entitled to take one week of leave for each “qualifying period” the child receives neonatal care, which is any period of seven days during which the child receives care without interruption.

To be entitled to take the leave, employees must be taking it to care for the child, give the required notice and be either:

  • a. the child’s parent, an intended parent of the child, or the partner of the child’s mother at the date of birth
    b. in cases of adoption be the child’s adopter, prospective adopter, or the partner of either at the date the child is placed
    c. an overseas adopter, or the partner of an overseas adopter at the date the child enters Great Britain

A maximum of 12 weeks’ leave is available and it must be taken before the end of 68 weeks beginning with the child’s date of birth. In cases of adoption, qualifying periods must be after the date the child is placed.

There are two tiers of neonatal care leave.

  • A “tier one period” is a period of leave beginning with the day the child starts receiving care, ending with the seventh day after they stop receiving care.
    • A “tier two period” means any period of leave which is not a tier one period.

Tier one leave cannot be taken before the day after the first qualifying period but it can be taken in non-consecutive weeks. Any leave not taken as tier one leave can be taken in the tier two period and must be taken consecutively.

As for other types of leave, notice is required to take neonatal care leave and pay. Several things must be specified on this notice, including the child’s date of birth/date of placement of adoption, the date(s) the child started receiving care and the date it ended (if it has) and the dates and duration of the leave to be taken. The notice must also confirm that the employee meets the eligibility requirements.

Different notice periods are in place for tier one and tier two leave. For tier one leave, notice must be given before the employee is due to start work on the first day of absence, unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so.

For tier two leave, to take a single week of leave, notice must be given no later than 15 days before the first day of leave. For two or more consecutive weeks, notice must be given no later than 28 days before the first day of leave.

If the employee accrues neonatal care leave after already starting another period of statutory family leave, then the neonatal care leave can be taken after, providing it is within 68 weeks beginning on the child’s date of birth or placement. However, where the employee has already started neonatal care leave and begins another period of statutory leave, such as maternity or paternity leave, before neonatal care leave is due to end, then neonatal care leave will end immediately.

If then the employee is still within the tier one period at the end of the other period of statutory leave, then any remaining neonatal care leave entitlement must be taken immediately. Where the employee is in the tier two period at the end of the other period of statutory leave, then the remaining entitlement must be taken consecutively with any other neonatal care leave.

The protections during and after neonatal care leave are the same as for other statutory family related leave types. This includes the right not to suffer a detriment or dismissal as a result of taking, or seeking to take, the leave and the right to return to the same job after an isolated period of neonatal care leave, unless when added to other statutory leave (excluding parental) the total duration of leave is more than 26 weeks. In this case, they are entitled to return to another job that is suitable and appropriate on not less favourable terms.

Employees taking neonatal care leave, and during an additional protected period, are entitled to the same redundancy protection as for employees on maternity leave. The protected period begins once the employee has taken six consecutive weeks of neonatal care leave and ends 18 months after the child was born or placed for adoption.

This is available to those who:

  • a. had 26 weeks’ continuous employment ending with the relevant week
    b. had average earnings of not less than the lower earnings limit for the eight weeks ending with the relevant week.

The relevant week is the week immediately before neonatal care starts.
Up to 12 weeks’ Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is available. Where the employee didn’t meet the criteria to be entitled to neonatal care leave until after neonatal care has started, then they will be entitled to pay for any period of seven days of interrupted care after they become eligible.

Employers will need to begin to think about implementing this right. However, until the regulations are confirmed, it would be premature to finalise any documentation as there is the possibility that they may be changed on their way to becoming law.

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