The new right to neonatal care leave and pay

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 will come into force on 6 April this year. The Act will provide eligible employees with a right to take up to 12 weeks’ leave where their child requires 7 (or more) days of continuous neonatal care. The neonatal care must have taken place or begun within the first 28 days of birth – this will be disappointing for some parents who endure a significant hospital admission when problems are discovered after the first few weeks of the baby’s life.

The neonatal care leave will be on top of any other leave they may be entitled to, including maternity and paternity leave. The aim of the new rights is to allow parents dedicated time to spend with their baby while they are receiving medical care, without that eating into their maternity, paternity or shared parental leave. The government expects that the new Act will benefit around 60,000 new parents.

On 17 January 2025, the government published two regulations supporting the introduction of this new right. The Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025 set out the details of eligibility, notification requirements and entitlement. Separately, The Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (General) Regulations 2025 set out the regime for payment during periods of neonatal leave. Both sets of regulations remain in draft form at the present time, subject to Parliamentary approval. The government has confirmed that it will be publishing guidance on the new right ahead of 6 April 2025 and we are also expecting guidance from Acas to support employers.

Employer considerations:

• Policies: Employers should prepare and implement neonatal care leave policies before April 2025. Employers should ensure that other policies are updated to reflect the protections offered to employees taking neonatal care leave, including in redundancy, and in respect of unfair dismissal and detriment as a result of having taken the leave. Importantly, employees taking neonatal care leave of over 6 weeks must be added to the groups of employees who will be entitled to priority status in the event of a redundancy (until the child turns 18 months).
• Training: Employers should ensure that HR and managers are aware of the new entitlement and that it applies to both parents who qualify under the regulations.
• Communication: Employers should ensure that employees are aware of the support they can claim under neonatal care leave policies.
• Enhancements: Employers may consider whether to enhance the statutory payment scheme, whether in terms of pay or duration, particularly if they do so for other types of parental leave. Employers may choose to do this on a discretionary basis.
• Notice: Employers may also consider waiving the notice requirements given the complexity of the different notice requirements for ‘tier 1’ or ‘tier 2’ leave and the fact that regulations expressly provide for employers to operate separate notice provisions. The ‘tier 1’ period is the period during which the child is receiving neonatal care or during the week following the end of neonatal care. The ‘tier 2’ period is any leave taken outside the ‘tier 1’ period.

Whether you’re an employee or an employer in need of assistance, please reach out to the EMW employment team, who are ready to help.