From 6 April 2025, employees in England, Scotland, and Wales will have the right to take neonatal care leave and, if they meet specific qualifying requirements, to receive statutory neonatal care pay (SNCP). This initiative is designed to support working parents (including adopting parents and others with parental responsibility) whose child requires at least seven continuous days of neonatal care within the first 28 days of birth, up to a maximum of twelve weeks of leave. The Government estimates that this new entitlement will benefit approximately 60,000 parents each year, offering additional security and financial support during a stressful and uncertain period of their lives.
Crucially, the right to neonatal care leave (“SNCL”) is a day-one right for qualifying employees. As soon as their employment starts, eligible parents may claim this leave if their baby is admitted to neonatal care for an uninterrupted period of at least seven days. However, entitlement to statutory neonatal care pay (“SNCP”) requires employees to satisfy certain conditions, generally mirroring the eligibility criteria for other statutory family pay regimes such as statutory maternity or paternity pay. These conditions include a minimum length of service and meeting the lower earnings threshold, currently set at £125 in the relevant 2025/26 period, though the statutory pay rate itself stands at £187.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).
Employers are advised to review and update family leave policies in anticipation of this new statutory right. The legislation also references potential expansions to existing family-friendly rights. For instance, concurrent changes in the Employment Rights Bill emphasise day-one eligibility for paternity and unpaid parental leave, as well as introducing new dismissal protections for pregnant employees and employees returning from certain types of family leave.
Key definitions and eligibility criteria
Definition of neonatal care
Employers must understand what does and does not qualify as “neonatal care.” According to the draft legislation, neonatal care includes:
Medical care received in a hospital.
Medical care received elsewhere (such as consultant-led outpatient care) where the baby has been transferred from a hospital, remains under the direction of a consultant, and continues to receive monitoring from healthcare professionals.
Palliative or end-of-life care, initiated within 28 days of birth.
For leave to become available, the baby must have spent at least seven continuous days in neonatal care. The earliest day of eligibility for SNCL is the day following the first full week the child receives uninterrupted neonatal care. Although the leave can be triggered during the neonatal care itself, parents can also choose to take the entire or remaining portion of their neonatal care leave after maternity, adoption, or paternity leave has ended—provided that the start date remains within 68 weeks of the child’s birth.
Who Qualifies for Leave
An employee may take this leave if, at the child’s birth, they are:
The child’s birth parent.
A partner of the birth parent, provided they live with the parent in an “enduring family relationship” and expect to share responsibility for raising the child.
A prospective or actual adopter, including in surrogacy arrangements where there is a recognized intention to form a parental relationship.
Crucially, this new right applies to England, Scotland, and Wales. In Northern Ireland, consultation has taken place with the aim of implementing similar rules, although final details for Northern Ireland differ or may appear in separate legislation. Until then, employers operating across all regions must be mindful of differences in legal obligations.
Duration and timing of leave
Maximum entitlement
Eligible employees may take up to twelve weeks of neonatal care leave. This figure is derived by granting one additional week of neonatal care leave for every week the baby remains in neonatal care, subject to a maximum total of 12 weeks.
Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 Periods
Neonatal care leave is split into “Tier 1” and “Tier 2,” a concept introduced to address different logistical scenarios:
Tier 1: Occurs while the infant remains in neonatal care, plus the seven-calendar-day period following discharge. During Tier 1, employees can take their neonatal care leave in non-consecutive blocks of at least one week each. Notice requirements in Tier 1 are characteristically minimal; employees can notify employers of their intention to take the leave immediately before or on the day they plan to be absent, or “as soon as reasonably practicable.” Employers and employees can mutually agree to waive formalities.
Tier 2: Begins more than seven days after the child has stopped receiving neonatal care. At this point, employees must take the remainder of their neonatal care leave (whatever remains out of the maximum 12 weeks) in a single continuous block. Notice requirements are more stringent - 15 days’ notice is required for a single week of leave, and 28 days’ notice is necessary for two or more consecutive weeks. Additionally, employees must provide the notice in writing for Tier 2 leave.
Interaction with other family leave
Neonatal care leave is additional to other statutory family leave entitlements, such as maternity, paternity, adoption, or shared parental leave. If, for example, a mother is already on maternity leave when the child enters neonatal care, she may finish her maternity leave and then commence neonatal care leave, provided the 68-week window from the date of birth has not elapsed. Similarly, a partner who has exhausted paternity leave can begin neonatal care leave. This ensures parents do not have to spend the remainder of their family leave in a hospital setting, allowing them to reserve a portion of their existing maternity or paternity leave for when the child is healthy enough to be at home.
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP)
Eligibility rules
While neonatal care leave is a day-one right, employees must meet additional conditions to qualify for SNCP. They must:
Have at least 26 weeks of continuous employment by the “relevant week,” which corresponds to the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (or, in the case of adoption, the week the child is matched).
Earn at least the lower earnings threshold of £125 per week (in the 2025/26 tax year).
Remain employed up until the week before the SNCP is to be claimed.
Rate of pay
The rate matches other statutory family leave payments. As of 6 April 2025, statutory neonatal care pay is set at £187.18 per week, or 90% of an employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Employers are free to offer a more favourable or enhanced package for neonatal care leave. However, if they do so, they should clearly communicate these enhanced terms in a written policy.
Notice requirements and administrative aspects
Required notice information
Employees must provide essential information to support their request for neonatal care leave. This generally includes:
The baby’s date of birth (or, for adoption, the date of placement, or date of arrival in Great Britain for overseas adoptions).
The exact date on which the baby commenced neonatal care.
The date on which neonatal care ended, if applicable.
The total quantity of weeks the employee intends to take as neonatal care leave.
A declaration of eligibility, confirming they have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing, and that the leave is taken for the purpose of caring for the child.
When the employee is requesting Tier 2 leave (i.e., outside the week following discharge), the notice must typically be submitted in writing. If the leave is scattered across multiple weeks in Tier 1, employees may submit notice verbally; however, both parties may choose to relax or waive these requirements if appropriate.
Cancelling or changing leave
For Tier 2 leave, employees can withdraw or change their request by giving the same notice mandated for the original request (15 days for a single week, 28 days for multiple weeks). Tier 1 leave adjustments are trickier since it depends on short-notice arrangements, typically calling for more flexible employer-employee understandings.
Rights during and after neonatal care leave
Continuity of terms and conditions
Employees remain entitled to all non-remuneration terms and conditions throughout neonatal care leave. This includes continuity of benefits such as annual leave accrual, pension contributions, company car use (if applicable), private health benefits, and similar contractual perks. Their length of service also continues to accrue for statutory and contractual purposes.
Right to return
After a standalone period of neonatal care leave, employees must be allowed to return to their original job if reasonably practicable. For extended absences, especially when neonatal care leave is stacked with other forms of leave, an employer can offer a suitable alternative role (on terms no less favourable) but only if it is truly impracticable to allow the employee to resume their exact position.
Redundancy protection
A notable aspect of this legislation is redundancy protection for employees on neonatal care leave, mirroring safeguards similar to those for employees on other family-related leave. If an employee has taken at least six consecutive weeks of neonatal care leave and a redundancy situation arises, that employee holds priority status for any suitable alternative employment that exists, continuing for up to 18 months after the child’s birth in some cases. This effectively means an employer must offer such an employee any available suitable alternative position before offering it to others.
Protection from detriment or dismissal
Employees cannot be treated detrimentally or dismissed because they requested or took neonatal care leave. Dismissal on these grounds can be presumed automatically unfair, regardless of the employee’s length of service. Employers must be mindful in all redundancy processes, performance evaluations, pay reviews, and promotion decisions, ensuring that no direct or indirect penalty is imposed on employees who have exercised these new statutory rights.
Looking ahead
As of 18 March 2025, the draft regulations have been laid before Parliament, and we anticipate that the new law will come into full effect on 6 April 2025. Employers should watch for any final clarifications or guidance from the government or Acas. The legislation underscores a growing focus on family-friendly employment rights and the government’s stated aim of supporting parents through one of the most difficult challenges - extended medical intervention for a newborn.
In addition, overarching reforms introduced via the Employment Rights Bill and other legislation may intertwine with neonatal care leave, further expanding day-one rights for paternity and unpaid parental leave and enhancing protections for pregnant employees and new parents who return to work. While these changes may demand more proactive steps in HR administration, many employers see them as an opportunity to demonstrate corporate social responsibility and to attract and retain talent in a labour market that increasingly values comprehensive family support.
By incorporating robust neonatal care leave policies, training managerial staff, and ensuring administrative processes can handle the complexities of eligibility and notice, employers can align with the new statutory entitlements and foster a supportive environment at a time when employees need it most.
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