The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 – What Employers Need to Know
On 20 January 2025 the government announced that the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 would come into effect on 6 April 2025 when it published its draft regulations. The Act is amongst a suite of employment law changes on the horizon, aimed at delivering on the government’s commitment to support families under its “Plan for Change” vision.
What is the idea behind the Act?
The intention of the Act is to provide additional support for parents by providing them with a statutory right to take time off work to care for a new born baby who requires extended hospital care, without the need to use alternative forms of leave, such as annual leave. The government estimates that the new rights may benefit around 60,000 new parents.
When will employees be eligible?
Qualifying parents will be entitled to neonatal care leave as a ‘day one right’, meaning that no minimum period of service is required to be entitled to take the leave.
To qualify, an employee must be the parent of a new born, who is admitted into hospital up to the age of 28 days old, and who requires a continuous stay in hospital of seven full days or more.
The draft regulations set out the entitlement provisions for various categories of parents or intended parents so that same-sex parents, adoptive parents, and surrogate parents are all eligible for neonatal care leave if they are expected to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing.
What is the entitlement?
The Act entitles eligible parents to take a minimum of one week and a maximum of 12 weeks of leave in addition to any other leave to which they may be entitled, such as maternity, paternity and shared parental leave. The right applies to both parents individually, and takes effect from the day on which the child is admitted to a neonatal unit, though leave can be taken at any point during the first 68 weeks following the child’s birth or adoption placement. This means that employees may choose to take their entitlement to neonatal care leave following other family leave, such as maternity or paternity leave.
Is the leave taken continuously or can it be taken non-continuously?
The draft regulations categorise ‘tier 1’ and ‘tier 2’ periods of neonatal leave. During the tier 1 period, which commences from the day the child begins to receive neonatal care and ends seven days after the end of neonatal care, the leave can be taken in non-consecutive blocks of one week. During the tier 2 period, which is the remainder of the 68-week period, neonatal care leave must be taken in one, continuous, block.
Is neonatal care leave paid?
A new entitlement to ‘statutory neonatal care pay’ (SNCP) will be introduced, to reflect the position with other types of family leave. This entitles employees who meet minimum service and earnings criteria (26 weeks’ continuous employment and average earnings of £123 per week) to paid leave. The rate will be the same as other statutory rates for family leave, which is currently £184.03 per week, increasing to £187.18 per week in April 2025. Employers may, of course, choose to offer an enhanced rate of pay for neonatal care leave, beyond the statutory minimum, particularly if they already do so for other types of family leave.
What should employers be doing to prepare?
Employers who do not already have a neonatal care policy in place should prepare one ahead of the Act coming into force. The policy should include information on who is eligible, when the right applies, what notice is required, the application process, and the rate of, and eligibility to, pay. Any existing neonatal care leave policies should be reviewed and amended to ensure alignment with the draft regulations.
It would also be helpful to train managers on dealing with applications for neonatal care leave, as well as informing employees about the new policy and Act.
Contact us
Saira Ramadan is a partner in our employment law team. If you have any questions about any of the issues covered in this article, or need legal advice, please get in touch with the team today.