Having a baby in the neonatal unit can be an emotional and frightening time, and you may be feeling overwhelmed and anxious. Additional pressures from work and finances can add to your fears and concerns at a time when you should be able to focus on your baby or babies.
This guide is to help parents and carers understand how Neonatal Care Leave and Pay works and whether it applies to you.
Neonatal Care - Leave is an entitlement to time away from work in addition to other parental leave (Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave).
Neonatal Care - Pay refers to pay that parents/carers who fulfil certain employment requirements will receive from their employer during their Neonatal Care Leave.
Neonatal Care Leave and Pay gives parents the opportunity to extend their parental leave by one week for every full week that their baby is receiving hospital care if:
Neonatal Care Leave is a “day one” right, which means it applies no matter how long you’ve been in your job. It also offers employment protection rights similar to those that come with other parental leave, for example, the right to paid holidays and the right to return to a job at the same level.
Neonatal Care Leave is available to people with a parental relationship to the baby/babies, whether they are the mother or birthing parent, father or other non-birthing parent such as non-birthing mother, spouse, civil partner or adoptive parent.
Neonatal Care Leave and Pay is available to parents/carers that meet additional length of service and earnings requirements. If you have worked for your employer for a minimum of 26 weeks and earn on average at least £125 per week, your leave will be paid at a statutory flat rate of £187.18 per week, or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
The maximum amount of leave that can be taken is 12 weeks, and it must be taken within 68 weeks of the baby’s birth.
Statutory Maternity Leave starts, at the latest, the day your baby is born. This means that you will take Ordinary or Additional Maternity Leave first and then take Neonatal Care Leave after that.
Both Statutory Paternity Leave and Neonatal Leave must be taken in week-long periods. How you take this leave depends on whether your baby is still in the hospital.
See Bliss’ pages on parental leave for more information on the different types of leave.
Neonatal Care Leave and Pay is based on a self-declaration – there is no form to fill in – but you will need to provide your employer with some information.
Some employers have introduced Neonatal Care Leave and Pay ahead of 6 April 2025.
It is important you contact your employer or HR department to assist you with specifics related to your situation.
Parents have been contacting us with their questions about Neonatal Care Leave and Pay. Here are some FAQs to help you understand how this might impact your situation.
No. The new Neonatal Care Leave and Pay entitlement starts on 6 April 2025, and does not apply to any parents of babies born before that date.
The Neonatal Care Leave and Pay Act was approved on 24 May 2023, but HMRC and payroll providers require at least 18 months to put in place the changes needed to make new statutory payments. This is why the legislation doesn’t take effect until a later date.
Before 6 April 2025, there is no legal right to additional leave or pay for parents with a baby receiving neonatal care.
All employers will need to introduce Neonatal Care Leave and Pay by 6 April 2025, but some – including parkrun, M&S, Vitabiotics, Virgin Media, Scania and Grant Thornton – have started implementing these policies early to benefit and support their employees through their neonatal experience.
Bliss has created a briefing to help employers introduce the new entitlement ahead of 6 April 2025 (downloads as PDF). Share this with your employer or HR department to encourage them to bring in their own Neonatal Leave and Pay policy ahead of the statutory implementation date.
You can send them our letter of support (downloads as a PDF) which includes a link to the briefing.
