Who qualifies for neonatal care leave
Neonatal Care Leave is a day one right and will be available to employees who are parents (this includes biological, adoptive, and intended parents in surrogacy arrangements) or partners of parents of babies who:
• Are admitted to hospital for neonatal care within 28 days of birth.
• Are in hospital for at least 7 full days.
Eligible employees are entitled to take up to 12 weeks leave, with a minimum of 1-week – the actual amount of leave the employee can take depends on how many weeks their baby spends in neonatal care, subject to the cap of 12 weeks. The leave must also be taken within 68 weeks of birth.
There are two different tiers of neonatal care leave (tier 1 and tier 2), which are explored below.
Tier 1
This tier of leave applies where the leave starts while the baby is still in hospital receiving neonatal care or within 7 days of that care ending.
Employees should ensure that they inform their employer before the start of their working day on the first day of leave, or as soon as reasonably practicable after that. Written notice is not mandatory for tier 1 leave, to allow for the urgency of the situation, but written notice is required for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, even in a tier 1 situation.
Tier 2
This applies when the leave is taken more than 7 days after the baby’s neonatal care has ended. As with Tier 1 leave, as referred to above, the leave must still be taken within 68 weeks of the birth.
In terms of the notice requirements for this type of leave – if the employee only requires 1-week of leave, 15 days’ notice is required. If the employee requires 2 or more weeks of leave, at least 28 days’ notice must be given. This notice must be given in writing.
The reason for the two tiers of leave is that tier 1 accommodates urgent, unplanned leave and allows parents to act quickly, whereas tier 2 is for planned leave after treatment has taken place.
Who qualifies for pay?
Whilst there is no length of service requirement for Neonatal Care Leave, entitlement to Statutory Neonatal Care Pay requires the employee to have worked for their employer for 26 weeks by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. They must also earn no less than the lower earnings limit, which is currently £123 per week.
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay will be paid at the lower rate of £187.18 (which is the set rate from April 2025), or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings.
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is payable in addition to any other form of statutory pay, such as maternity or paternity pay, not instead of, and it will be payable for the entire duration of the Neonatal Care Leave.
If you would like our team to update your policy or you wish to discuss anything mentioned in this article or any employment matters you may have, please contact a member of our employment team.
Who qualifies for neonatal care leave
Neonatal Care Leave is a day one right and will be available to employees who are parents (this includes biological, adoptive, and intended parents in surrogacy arrangements) or partners of parents of babies who:
• Are admitted to hospital for neonatal care within 28 days of birth.
• Are in hospital for at least 7 full days.
Eligible employees are entitled to take up to 12 weeks leave, with a minimum of 1-week – the actual amount of leave the employee can take depends on how many weeks their baby spends in neonatal care, subject to the cap of 12 weeks. The leave must also be taken within 68 weeks of birth.
There are two different tiers of neonatal care leave (tier 1 and tier 2), which are explored below.
Tier 1
This tier of leave applies where the leave starts while the baby is still in hospital receiving neonatal care or within 7 days of that care ending.
Employees should ensure that they inform their employer before the start of their working day on the first day of leave, or as soon as reasonably practicable after that. Written notice is not mandatory for tier 1 leave, to allow for the urgency of the situation, but written notice is required for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, even in a tier 1 situation.
Tier 2
This applies when the leave is taken more than 7 days after the baby’s neonatal care has ended. As with Tier 1 leave, as referred to above, the leave must still be taken within 68 weeks of the birth.
In terms of the notice requirements for this type of leave – if the employee only requires 1-week of leave, 15 days’ notice is required. If the employee requires 2 or more weeks of leave, at least 28 days’ notice must be given. This notice must be given in writing.
The reason for the two tiers of leave is that tier 1 accommodates urgent, unplanned leave and allows parents to act quickly, whereas tier 2 is for planned leave after treatment has taken place.
Who qualifies for pay?
Whilst there is no length of service requirement for Neonatal Care Leave, entitlement to Statutory Neonatal Care Pay requires the employee to have worked for their employer for 26 weeks by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. They must also earn no less than the lower earnings limit, which is currently £123 per week.
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay will be paid at the lower rate of £187.18 (which is the set rate from April 2025), or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings.
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is payable in addition to any other form of statutory pay, such as maternity or paternity pay, not instead of, and it will be payable for the entire duration of the Neonatal Care Leave.
If you would like our team to update your policy or you wish to discuss anything mentioned in this article or any employment matters you may have, please contact a member of our employment team.