From 6^th April 2025, employees who have a child that enters neonatal care (which usually occurs where the child is unwell, premature, has a low birth weight, or has been injured during the birth) before they are 28 days’ old may be entitled to up to 12 weeks’ paid leave to care for their child.

Right to leave

The new right to leave entitles all employees the “day one” right to take leave if their child is in neonatal care for a period of more than 7 consecutive days.  The leave is available to parents of, adoptive parents of, or those with a caring responsibility for any child born after 6^th April 2025.  The employee can take one weeks’ leave for every 7 full and continuous days that the child is in neonatal care.

The leave is divided into two types, Tier 1 and Tier 2.

• Tier 1 leave is leave taken whilst the child is undergoing neonatal care or up to 7 days after the neonatal care ends.
• Tier 2 leave is leave which has accrued whilst the child is undergoing neonatal care, but is taken more than 7 days after the neonatal care ends. Tier 2 leave can be taken any time up until 68 weeks after the child’s birth.

By differentiating between Tier 1 and Tier 2 leave, the legislation enables parents to take leave without interrupting their other types of leave to which they will be entitled.  I.e. if maternity leave was to be brought to an end and the employee took neonatal care leave instead, the entitlement to maternity leave could cease.

Instead, the legislation allows employees to add the period of Neonatal Care Leave to the end of their maternity, paternity, adoption, or shared parental leave as Tier 2 leave.

Right to receive Pay

The few regulations also provide for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay for employees who have been in continuous employment with the same employer for at least 26 weeks (at the time that the Neonatal Care Leave occurs, and so anyone entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Paternity Pay will automatically qualify) and earn at least £125 per week.

The current rate of Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is equal to the current Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Paternity Pay, being the lower of £187.18 per week or 90% of their average weekly earnings.

Guidance for Employers 

In light of the new changes, employers should ensure that their policies and procedures are updated to take account of the right to Neonatal Care Leave.

These policies should include how and when the employee must provide notice of their intention to take leave, how the leave will be recorded in the case of Tier 2 leave, and the pay that the employee may be entitled to.

Next Steps

If you would like to speak to someone about any Employment Law queries or would like assistance in reviewing and updating company policies, please contact Victoria Ramshaw in our Employment and Dispute Resolution Team on 01543 267 238 or by email to vramshaw@ansons.law.

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