New entitlement for employed parents – Statutory neonatal care leave and pay from April 2025

From 6 April 2025, a new statutory right to neonatal care leave and pay came into effect for employed parents across England, Scotland and Wales (this change does not extend to Northern Ireland).

The legislation is expected to support approximately 60,000 parents each year, providing vital relief during an emotional and challenging time of having a baby in neonatal care. Crucially, it allows eligible parents to take time off work, and if eligible to receive statutory pay.

Two key elements: leave and pay

This new entitlement comprises two parts:

• Neonatal Care Leave (NCL) – grants additional leave from work as a day-one employment right
• Neonatal Care Pay (NCP) – subject to minimum employment service period and earnings

Who qualifies?

The entitlement applies in the following circumstances:

• For parents of a baby which is born on or after 6 April 2025
• Where the baby is admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth, and has a continuous stay of at least seven full days

‘Parents’ are broadly defined and include:

• Biological parents
• Adoptive parents
• Parents fostering to adopt
• Intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement
• Partners of the baby’s mother is eligible

This is defined as someone who has been living with the mother or adopter (in a long-term family relationship, and are expected to take responsibility for the child, but who is not related to them)

What is considered neonatal care?

Neonatal care includes:

• Medical care provided in hospital
• Ongoing medical care after hospital discharge, where directed by a medical consultant
• Palliative or end-of-life care

Leave entitlement

Eligible parents can take up to 12 weeks leave, depending on the length of the baby’s stay in neonatal care. The leave must be taken in full weeks and must be used within 68 weeks of the baby’s birth.

Each parent has an individual entitlement, meaning the leave is not shared between partners. NCL is in addition to existing rights such as maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave. In many cases, neonatal leave is expected to follow immediately after one of these other leave periods.

Statutory pay conditions

To be eligible for NCP, an employee must:

• Have been employed by their current employer for at least 26 weeks (ending with the ‘relevant week)
• Earn above £125 per week (from April 2025, in line with the Lower Earnings Limit)

Employees who meet the criteria will be eligible for up to 12 weeks of Statutory Neonatal Care Pay at 90% of Average Weekly Earnings or £187.18 (whichever is less).

Tiered leave structure

NCL is split into two categories:

• Tier 1 – Leave taken while the baby is still receiving neonatal care, or up to one week following discharge. This can be taken in non-continuous blocks (minimum of one week per block).
• Tier 2 – Leave taken after the first week post-discharge, within the 68-week window from the birth of the child. This must be taken in a single continuous block.

Notice periods and how to give notice:

Tier 1

• Inform the employer of the preferred leave start date.
• Notice can be given by telephone, voicemail or text and doesn’t have to be in writing.
• Should the leave continue for another week, inform the employer again by the end of the previous week.
• If the baby is likely to be in neonatal care for some time, the employer can agree less frequency of contact.
• For pay, notice must be given in writing 28 days of starting leave.

Tier 2

• For a week’s leave and pay, notice must be submitted in writing, at least 15 days prior to the start date of leave.
• If two or more weeks leave and pay is required, 28 days notice must be given.
• For both cases above, notice must be submitted in writing, such as by email or letter.

Leave taken after the first week post-discharge, within the 68-week window from the birth of the child. This must be taken in a single continuous block.

Key details required

In all cases, employees must provide the employer with the following key details:

Leave

• Full name
• Baby’s date of birth or date placed if adopted
• Start and end date of baby’s neonatal care
• Start date of neonatal leave
• Confirmation of the number of weeks leave required

Leave and pay

• Confirmation that the employee will care for the baby during the claim period
• Confirmation that the employee is the baby’s parent or mother’s partner, and has caring responsibilities for the baby

This information is only required once, i.e. the first time leave and pay is claimed.

What actions employers need to take?

Employers should take proactive steps to prepare for the above changes, including:

• Updating family leave and pay policies.
• Communicating the changes clearly to employees.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or require further assistance, please get in touch with our payroll services team who will be happy to support you to navigate through the new obligations.

Disclaimer: Please note that this document is not intended to and nor does it provide any form of legal or employment law advice and should not be construed as doing so.  It is designed to alert clients of some of the issues and is not intended to give exhaustive coverage of the topic.  Professional legal advice should always be sought before action is either taken or refrained from, as a result of information contained herein. 

Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash