Neonatal Care Leave & Pay
While the Employment Rights Bill has understandably garnered more attention in the last few months, several other less publicised pieces of legislation passed in the last 18 months are set to take effect in 2025, introducing new or amended rights for employees. One of these is the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023. Although the Act itself was passed in May 2023, it’s only due to come into effect on 6 April 2025 and the regulations needed to implement the Act and confirm the final details of how it’ll work in practice were published on 21 January. These regulations are still in draft form at the moment and have not yet been passed.
The Act introduces new rights for employees to take one or more periods of “neonatal care leave”, and to be paid “neonatal care pay” during that leave. The entitlement to both leave and pay are capped at 12 weeks, and will need to be taken in full weeks, rather than sporadic days or hours. The rate of neonatal care pay will mirror that of existing “family-friendly” rights such as statutory maternity pay, at the lower amount of either £187.18 per week or 90% of the recipient’s normal weekly earnings.
Who qualifies for neonatal care leave and neonatal care pay?
- Employees will qualify for leave and pay if their newborn needs to be admitted to hospital for medical treatment while still a “neonate” i.e. within 28 days of their birth.
- In order to qualify, the treatment in question must last at least seven days continuously (and the leave cannot start within the first seven days of the child receiving care).
When can neonatal care leave be taken?
The leave has to be taken within 68 weeks of the birth. This is especially important for children who may need to stay in hospital for an extended period, or return to hospital for more care after initially being admitted while a neonate. This is designed to allow parents in this position to fully use their maternity or paternity leave periods while also recognising their unique circumstances.
How will neonatal care pay work?
Unlike the right to take neonatal care leave, the right to receive neonatal care pay during that leave is partly dependent on the employee’s length of service and earnings.
- The employee must have worked for the employer for at least 26 weeks (six months) at the relevant date – which for employees also entitled to maternity or paternity leave will be 15 weeks before the due date of the birth or, in cases of adoption, the week the placement is confirmed.
- In any other circumstances this is the week before the leave.
- The employee’s earnings must also match the “lower earnings limit” (which from April 2025 will be £125.00 per week) averaged over the eight weeks before that relevant date.
What notice does an employee need to give?
Before taking the leave and receiving the pay, the employee needs to provide their employer with notice of their intention to do so. The notice must state:
- The employee’s name
- The child’s date of birth
- The date the child started receiving care
- The date they intend their absence to begin
- The intended length of absence
It also needs to confirm that the purpose of the leave is to provide care for the child and (for the first period of leave taken) confirmation that they are eligible (that they are the parent of the child or partner of their mother, and have responsibility for the child’s upbringing)
To recognise the fact that the family circumstances and emotional state will be very different when a child is first receiving care compared to later periods of care, notice for the initial care period only needs to be given before the first day of absence.
On the other hand, if the child is readmitted to hospital for a second period of seven days or more and the employee would like to take leave again, the notice required will be either 15 days (if only a single week of leave is to be taken) or 28 days (if a period of two or more consecutive weeks is to be taken). However, employers and employees can agree to set shorter notice period or waive the requirement for any notice.
As with all existing similar family friendly rights, an employee will be entitled to keep the same terms and conditions (other than pay) during a period of leave, and can’t be dismissed or penalised for taking or seeking to take neonatal care leave and/or pay. The employee also has the right to return to the same role on no less favourable terms, and in cases of potential redundancy, an employee who is taking or has taken neonatal care leave should be offered any suitable alternative role available.
What do you need to do now?
You don’t need to do anything right now, as the Regulations are still in draft form. We’ll be in touch with a full legal update once the Regulations are passed and with confirmation of when a new Neonatal Care policy will be added to your handbook (for Citation HR and combined HR & H&S clients with a Citation employee handbook).
Need more help?
If you’re struggling to get your head round the new entitlement, don’t hesitate to contact your free 24/7 HR advice line* for more information.
*Applicable for all clients who’ve purchased Citation’s HR & Employment Law and/or Health & Safety core service, including H&S and HR Workplace Expert. Please note that our H&S and HR Virtual Assistance clients have access to our advice line Mo
