Thousands of working families with babies in neonatal care will be entitled to additional time off as a day one right.
What do you need to know?
Right to Neonatal Care Leave
Employees can take up to 12 weeks of neonatal care leave if their child, born on or after 6th April 2025, requires medical or palliative care. This right is established under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and applies in England, Wales, and Scotland.
Eligibility for Neonatal Care Leave
To qualify, an employee must be a parent or fall within a qualifying category, and the child must be admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth for a minimum of seven days. There is no qualifying period of service.
Categories of Eligible Parents
- Child’s parents: Typically, the biological mother or father.
- Partners of a child’s parent: Must have primary responsibility for the child’s upbringing and live in an enduring family relationship.
- Child’s intended parents: In surrogacy arrangements; must apply for a parental order.
- Child’s adopter: Includes those with whom a child is placed for adoption.
- Child’s prospective adopter: Includes local authority foster parents under fostering for adoption schemes.
- Child’s adopter (overseas): Must have received official notification for adoption from overseas.
Definition of Neonatal Care
Neonatal care encompasses hospital care, consultant care following discharge, which involves ongoing monitoring, as well as palliative or end-of-life care.
Calculating Neonatal Care Leave
Employees are entitled to one week of leave for each uninterrupted week the child spends in neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. Leave must be taken within 68 weeks of the child’s birth.
Taking Neonatal Care Leave
Leave can be taken during two periods:
- Tier 1 period: Starts when the child begins neonatal care and ends seven days after care stops.
- Tier 2 period: Any other time within 68 weeks of birth, taken as a single consecutive period.
Notice Requirements
Employees must notify their employer of their intention to take leave, providing details such as their name, the child’s birth date, and the start and end dates of the neonatal care. Notice requirements vary depending on the period and duration of leave.
Withdrawal of Leave Notice
Employees can withdraw their notice of leave during the tier 2 period with at least 15 or 28 days’ notice, depending on the duration of leave.
Statutory Rights During Leave
Employees retain all employment terms and conditions except remuneration during neonatal care leave.
Right to Return After Leave
Employees have the right to return to their previous job or a suitable alternative if their leave exceeds 26 weeks.
Protection Against Redundancy
Employees are protected against redundancy related to taking neonatal care leave.
Contractual Right to Leave
Employees can choose the most favourable elements of statutory and contractual neonatal care leave rights.
Special Circumstances
Provisions apply if the child dies, is returned after adoption, stops living with an overseas adopter, or if a parental order does not proceed.
Detrimental Treatment or Dismissal
Employees are protected against detrimental treatment or dismissal owing to taking neonatal care leave. Dismissal for these reasons is automatically unfair.
Eligibility for Neonatal Care Pay
To be eligible for statutory neonatal care pay, the employee is generally required to have:
- At least 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer by the end of the relevant week.
- Normal weekly earnings over eight weeks ending with the end of the relevant week that are not less than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution purposes.
