From 6th April 2025, the Neonatal Care Leave and Pay Act 2023 introduced statutory rights for employees whose babies require neonatal care. It entitles mothers, birthing parents, fathers and non-birthing parents to a “day one” right to leave from work if their baby receives neonatal care for more than 7 continuous days before the baby is 28 days old.
This article outlines the key provisions to help employers comply and support affected employees.
What is Neonatal Care?
Neonatal care is the specialised support given to babies who are born prematurely or are unwell. In the UK, more than 90,000 babies each year need treatment in a neonatal unit.
Eligibility for Neonatal Care Leave & Pay
To be eligible for neonatal care leave, and potentially pay, the individual must be an employee of your business and taking neonatal leave to care for a baby they are responsible for, either jointly or alone. They must be:
- Birth mother or parent
- Intended parent via surrogacy
- Partner of the baby’s mother
- Adopter or prospective adopter of the child (or partner of the same)
For both leave and pay, the rules are different. Neonatal care leave is a day-one right, whereas statutory neonatal care pay requires 26 weeks’ continuous service by the end of the relevant week.
The new rights apply to babies born on or after 6th April 2025.
How Much Leave Can Be Taken?
Parents can take one week’s neonatal care leave for each week the baby receives neonatal care, with a maximum amount of leave at 12 weeks.
Neonatal leave only starts once the baby has spent at least seven consecutive days of neonatal care for the leave to be started, and it must be taken within the first 68 weeks of the baby’s birth.
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.Tier 1 leave can be taken in non-continuous blocks of a minimum of one week at a time.
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.
How Much Notice is Required to Take Neonatal Care Leave?
Employees must give you notice to exercise their right to neonatal care leave which depends on the type of leave required:
Tier 1: This notice is required before the time the employee is due to start work on the first day of absence in that week. With this, there is no need for a written notice, given the situation is likely to be an emergency.
Tier 2: For a single week of leave, notice must be given no later than 15 days before the first day of the neonatal leave.
Certain information in the notice must be included, including:
- Employee’s name
- Baby’s birth date
- The dates on which the child started to receive neonatal care
- Confirmation that the employee meets the eligibility requirements as to the family relationship with the child
How Much Notice is Required to Take Neonatal Care Pay?
It’s important to note that employees must give written notice to claim statutory neonatal care pay. If the pay is to be taken while the baby is still in neonatal care or within a week after discharge (Tier 1), notice should be given as soon as reasonably practicable.
If pay is to be taken more than a week after the baby leaves neonatal care (Tier 2):
- One week of pay: at least 15 days’ written notice before the week starts.
- Two or more consecutive weeks: at least 28 days’ written notice before the first week starts.
Employer Considerations
To provide support to employees, it’s important that employers should think about the following:
Policies
Updating existing policies for neonatal care leave can help your employees understand the new rights. Having a clear policy also supports both compliance and fairness across the company.
We recommend introducing notice templates that will help employees navigate the process during a stressful time.
Confidentiality
Employers must handle all communications and documentation in compliance with data-protection laws and respect employee privacy. You should also set out clearly who will access such sensitive information internally to avoid unnecessary disclosure.
Compliance
Ensure internal record-keeping and the processes align with the new law, to help make sure that the rights are applied fairly, so that no claims of unfair dismissal or discrimination happen. It’s also important to review redundancy and role allocation procedures to reflect the enhanced protections for employees on neonatal care leave.
Communication, Support & Wellbeing
Recognise that neonatal care situations may cause significant stress for parents, so make sure to offer additional support that can help employees during a difficult period. For example, counselling services, flexible working arrangements, regular manager check‑ins, etc.
Employment Rights & Protections
When returning from neonatal care leave, employees are entitled to return to the same role or, if that is not possible, to a suitable alternative on comparable terms. Employers must ensure these protections are clearly communicated and consistently applied to maintain compliance and support employee well-being.
Support From Premier Legal
If you need any help or guidance around Neonatal Care Leave and Pay, and how best to help your employees, then we encourage you to get in touch with us at Premier Legal. We have experience when it comes to supporting employers. If you want to find out more about neonatal care leave and pay, then contact us.
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Author
sarahrobinson@premier-legal.co.uk
Sarah Robinson is the Managing Partner and has specialised exclusively in employment law since qualifying as a solicitor in 1996.
Sarah has considerable experience of representing clients in many different industry sectors including insurance and financial services, corporate finance, technology, legal services, automotive, hotel and catering and media as well as the public sector.
Areas of particular interest include restrictive covenants, TUPE and advising in relation to discrimination.