Choy Lau
- Legal Director
- Employment
On April 6, 2025, the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 introduced significant changes for parents of new-borns requiring neonatal care. This new legislation aims to alleviate the stress faced by parents during challenging times, ensuring they can focus on their baby’s health without worrying about work commitments.
Neonatal Care Leave (“NCL”) – What is it?
Neonatal Care Leave is a day-one right, meaning employees can access it from their first day of employment. This leave is available to parents, intended parents (in cases of surrogacy), and partners of the baby’s mother, provided they have or expect to have responsibility for raising the child. The baby must be admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth and remain in care for at least seven continuous days.
NCL can be taken within 68 weeks of the baby’s birth. Neonatal care may be for hospital care, medical care after leaving hospital (under a consultant), ongoing monitoring and visits by healthcare professionals arranged by the hospital and, palliative or end of life care.
Leave Structure and Notice
An employee is entitled to one week of NCL for each qualifying week their child spends in neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
NCL is divided into two tiers:
- Tier 1: Leave taken while the baby is still receiving neonatal care and up to seven days after the care ends. This leave can be taken in non-continuous blocks of at least one week.
- Tier 2: Leave taken more than seven days after neonatal care ends, which must be taken in one continuous block.
Employees must comply with specific notice requirements when intending to take NCL. They need to inform their employer of their intention to take leave, providing details such as their name, the baby’s date of birth, the start and end dates of neonatal care, the intended start date of leave, and the number of weeks of leave they plan to take. Notice requirements differ between Tier 1 and Tier 2 leave periods, with Tier 1 having a shorter notice period (before the first day of absence or as soon as reasonably practicable) and Tier 2 requiring 15 days’ notice for a single week of leave, and 28 days’ notice for two or more consecutive weeks of leave. Employers and employees can mutually agree to waive these notice requirements, allowing for flexibility in urgent situations.
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (“SNCP”)
To qualify for SNCP, employees must have at least 26 weeks of continuous service and earn at least the lower earnings limit, currently set at £125.00 per week. SNCP is payable at the rate of £187.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower, for a maximum of 12 weeks.
Protections
Employees are protected from any detriment or dismissal related to their decision to take NCL. This means that employers cannot penalise or terminate employees for exercising their right to NCL. Any dismissal connected to NCL will be considered automatically unfair.
Further, employees taking NCL have the right to return to the same job or, if not reasonably practicable, to a suitable and appropriate position. If an employee is at risk of redundancy during NCL or within 18 months of the child’s birth or adoption (having taken at least six consecutive weeks of family-friendly leave), they have the right to first refusal of any suitable alternative vacancy.
Implications for Parents
The introduction of NCL and pay is expected to benefit around 60,000 new parents, providing them with the peace of mind needed during difficult times. Parents will no longer have to use their annual leave to spend time with their child, or attend work while their baby is in neonatal care.
Implications for Employers
The new Neonatal Care Leave and Pay laws bring several key changes for employers:
- Policy Updates: Employers need to update their family leave policies and ensure HR systems and payroll processes are ready to handle the new entitlements.
- Training: Managers and HR staff should be trained on the new rights and how to administer them.
- Notice Requirements: Employers must be aware of the specific notice requirements for neonatal care leave and have processes in place to handle these efficiently.
- Managing Overlapping Leave: Clear policies are needed to manage overlapping leave entitlements, such as maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave.
- Employee Support: Employers should determine how best to support their staff during neonatal care, including offering flexible working arrangements or enhanced pay rates.
- Data protection issues: details of the baby’s medical condition will be “special category” personal data and subject to additional protections under data protection legislation. Employers will need to ensure that they are processing this personal data in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Details of the baby’s health should not be disclosed to other employees and employers should seek to agree with the employee what information is shared with colleagues about the reason for the leave they are taking.
If you are dealing with any issues around the implementation of NCL, please do speak to a member of our team.
Meet the team:
George Cornell
- Solicitor
- Employment
