The new right to Neonatal Care Leave (NCL), brought into force by the Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations (the Regulations), will come into effect on 6 April 2025.
NCL will be a “day-one” right, which means it can be taken by all eligible employees from the beginning of their employment. The right will apply in relation to children born on or after 6 April 2025.
What is neonatal care?
Neonatal care is defined as:
- Medical care in a hospital (including maternity homes, clinics, and outpatient departments).
- Medical care in any other place to which the child is moved after discharge from hospital (provided that the care is under the direction of a consultant and includes ongoing monitoring by, or visits from, healthcare professionals arranged by the hospital referred to above).
- Palliative or end of life care.
How much leave can be taken and when?
Parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care within the first 28 days of life, and who require at least seven full consecutive days of care, will be able to take one week’s leave for every week the child spends in neonatal care, up to 12 weeks.
It is worth highlighting that the seven full consecutive days of care must begin on the day after care begins (i.e., the seven full consecutive days do not include the day that the care started), for a parent to be entitled to one week of NCL.
NCL is in addition to any other family leave entitlement but must be taken within 68 weeks of the child’s birth and must be used to care for the child. In practice, this will enable an employee on other forms of statutory family leave (such as maternity or paternity leave) to add their NCL entitlement to the end of their other entitlements.
Notice requirements
NCL is categorised into two tiers, and notice requirements differ between them, as set out below:
‘Tier 1’ Period
The Tier 1 period covers leave that starts while an employee’s child is receiving neonatal care, or up to seven days after neonatal care ends. Leave taken in the Tier 1 period can be taken in non-consecutive blocks of a minimum of one week.
For Tier 1 leave, notice must be given by the employee before the first day of absence or as soon as reasonably practicable.
‘Tier 2’ Period
The Tier 2 period covers leave that starts more than seven days after an employee’s child has stopped receiving neonatal care, and leave taken in the Tier 2 period must be taken in a single continuous block.
For Tier 2 leave, employees must provide 15 days’ notice for a single week of leave and 28 days’ notice for two or more consecutive weeks of leave.
Although the Regulations provide for an employer to operate separate notice provisions, employers can choose to waive the notice requirements if they wish to do so given the complexity of the different notice requirements.
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay
The Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (General) Regulations 2025 introduce a new entitlement for parents of children who are born after 6 April 2025 who receive neonatal care, allowing them to receive Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP). SNCP is paid at the statutory prescribed rate (£187.18 from April 2025) or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
Unlike NCL, SNCP is not a “day-one” right and will only be available to parents who meet continuity of service requirements and a minimum earnings threshold. Specifically, the employee must have 26 weeks’ continuous service by the “relevant week” (which, in birth cases, is the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth). The employee must also earn at least the statutory lower earnings limit (£125 per week for 2025/26).
Comment
Carla Codona, Solicitor in our Employment team comments:
“Employers should ensure that they are familiar with neonatal care rights and how they operate and interact alongside other parental leave entitlements.
“It will be important to implement clear and carefully considered policies which align with other family leave policies. With that in mind, decisions should be made regarding arrangements to offer enhanced neonatal care pay (if applicable), or whether it is appropriate to waive the notice requirements provided by the legislation. Whatever is decided, entitlements and requirements should be clearly communicated to employees.”
To discuss any of the points raised in this article, including the implementation of neonatal care leave policies, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Lindsays Employment team.
Published 2 April 2025
