Neonatal Care Leave and Pay: Your rights explained

Neonatal Care Leave and Pay is an important area of employment law that supports parents whose babies require specialist care shortly after birth. This article explains the legal framework surrounding these rights, including the eligibility criteria for Neonatal Care Leave and Pay and when this type of leave can be taken.

The Neonatal Care Leave and Pay Act has introduced the right for parents to take up to 12 weeks’ Neonatal Care leave, and pay, if eligible, when their baby has received neonatal care. This is in addition to other existing family leave rights they may be entitled to.

What is neonatal care?

This is defined as medical care received in a hospital and also after leaving hospital, under the direction of a consultant and including ongoing monitoring and visits from healthcare professionals. It also includes palliative or end-of-life care.

Who can take Neonatal care leave?

It is leave that is available to parents of babies;

• born on or after 6 April 2025
• who have been admitted into neonatal care in the first 28 days after birth; and
• whose neonatal care lasts at least 7 full continuous days.

The timeframes for Neonatal Care Leave and Pay

The whole period of Neonatal Care Leave and Pay must start and finish within 68 weeks from the baby’s birth.

Parents who are eligible can take 1 week’s leave and pay for every 7 full and continuous days their baby is in neonatal care. This is on condition the care starts within 28 days after the day the baby is born.

The leave must be taken in 7 full day blocks. So, for example, if a baby spends 10 days in neonatal care, the parents will only be eligible for one week of leave and pay.

A minimum of 1 full week and a maximum of 12 full weeks of paid Neonatal Care Leave is available subject to the eligibility requirements, in addition to any entitlement to maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave.

Parents are only eligible for their entitlement to neonatal leave and pay when their baby has already been in hospital receiving neonatal care for the minimum 7 days period. Therefore, when the baby has been in neonatal care for one week, the parent becomes entitled to one week’s neonatal leave (and, if eligible, pay).

Who has the right to access Neonatal Care Leave and Pay?

The right to neonatal leave and pay is available to the biological parents of the baby, but it is also available to;

• partners of the biological parents, as long as they live with them and have been their partner since the baby’s birth, so for example, the baby’s biological mother, biological father and the biological mother’s partner could all be eligible for Neonatal Care Leave and Pay if they meet the eligibility criteria;

• this Neonatal care leave and pay may also be available to adopted parents and their partners and the intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.

To receive Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, parents must:

• meet the definition of an employee, or an employed earner, such as an agency worker;
• have been employed for at least 26 continuous weeks on the 15th week before the expected week of the baby’s birth;
• stay employed up to the week before they claim Statutory Neonatal Care Pay; and
• they must earn the Lower Earnings Limit as a minimum, which is currently £125 per week.

When can neonatal care leave be taken?

When Neonatal Care leave can be taken, will depend on the individual circumstances.

When taken in an emergency, and within the first week after the baby leaves neonatal care;

• no notice is required from the employee to take Neonatal Care Leave.
• During this time, parents can take leave in flexible blocks of at least one week, but this block of 7 days does not need to be taken at once. For example, if a baby is born prematurely, the parents could immediately take Neonatal Care Leave of one week, which is the minimum they can take. 5 days of this leave could, in theory, be taken before any pre-arranged paternity leave, and the remaining 2 days of Neonatal leave can be added to the end of his paternity leave.
• If the parent wants to receive pay for this period, they must give written notice within 28-days from the date the Neonatal Care Leave began. For example, if the employee took Neonatal Care Leave between 1^stand 14^th January, they have 28 days from 1 January to give written notice of their claim for pay.

If the leave is taken more than a week after the baby has left neonatal care, this type of leave will be taken in one continuous block, either before or after any other family leave. For example, if the baby’s mother is already taking maternity leave when she becomes eligible for Neonatal Care Leave and Pay, then she must take her Neonatal Care Leave at the end of her maternity leave period, and in one continuous block. To receive pay for this type of leave;

• notice must be given at least 15 days before the first day of leave.
• If more than two consecutive weeks of Neonatal Care are taken, at least 28 days’ notice must be given before the first day of leave.

An employer cannot refuse an eligible employee’s request for leave or pay, as long as the correct notice is given.

If a parent does not qualify for Neonatal Care Leave and Pay, they still have some options for leave available to them, such as parental or bereavement leave or they could consider asking their employer to agree to give them a sabbatical. Employers may have bespoke policies on these types of leave, so it is worth checking these entitlements if Neonatal Care Leave is not available to you.

How Moore Barlow can help

The rules in relation to Neonatal Care Leave and pay are complicated so I would encourage you to ask your employer to confirm your eligibility and options for taking leave so that you can maximise the time you can take off to be with your baby using a combination of the different leave options available to you.

Moore Barlow can assist you in providing bespoke advice on your individual entitlement to Neonatal Care Leave. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss Neonatal Care Leave in more detail.