Neonatal Care Leave (UK)

A new UK statutory entitlement giving parents up to 12 weeks of paid leave when their baby requires neonatal care in hospital within the first 28 days of birth, effective from April 2025.

What Is Neonatal Care Leave?

Key Takeaways

  • ✓Neonatal care leave is a brand-new UK statutory right giving employed parents up to 12 weeks of additional leave when their newborn is admitted to neonatal care.
  • ✓It's separate from and in addition to maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave. Parents don't have to sacrifice existing leave entitlements.
  • ✓The right applies from day one of employment. There's no minimum service requirement to qualify for the leave itself.
  • ✓Statutory neonatal care pay requires 26 weeks of continuous service and minimum weekly earnings of at least the Lower Earnings Limit (currently 123 per week).
  • ✓Both parents are entitled to the leave individually, meaning each parent can take up to 12 weeks if they both qualify.

Before this legislation, parents of premature or seriously ill babies faced an impossible situation. A father's 2 weeks of paternity leave would run out while the baby was still in intensive care. Mothers on maternity leave watched their 39 weeks of pay tick down during months of hospital visits, leaving less paid time for when the baby finally came home. Neonatal care leave fixes this gap. It gives parents dedicated time to be with their baby during hospital treatment without eating into their other leave. The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 received Royal Assent in May 2023, and the regulations bringing it into force take effect from 6 April 2025. For HR teams, this means updating policies, payroll systems, and manager guidance before that date. It's the biggest addition to UK family leave rights since shared parental leave in 2015.

12 wksMaximum neonatal care leave entitlement for each parent when a baby is admitted to neonatal care
~90,000Babies admitted to neonatal care units in the UK each year (Bliss charity, 2024)
Day 1Neonatal care leave is a day-one employment right with no qualifying service period
Apr 2025Effective date of the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 coming into force

Eligibility and Qualifying Conditions

The entitlement triggers when specific conditions about the baby's care are met.

When the right applies

Neonatal care leave applies when a baby is admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth and the care lasts for 7 or more continuous days. "Neonatal care" means medical care received in a hospital setting, including neonatal intensive care units (NICU), special care baby units (SCBU), and transitional care wards. The leave doesn't apply if the baby is simply kept in hospital for routine observation after a normal birth.

Who qualifies

Both the birth mother and her partner can take neonatal care leave, provided they're employees. The partner doesn't have to be the biological parent; they need to have or expect to have responsibility for the child's upbringing, or be the partner of the birth parent. Agency workers, self-employed individuals, and workers who aren't employees don't qualify for the statutory leave, though some employers may extend similar rights in their policies.

Qualifying for pay vs leave

The right to leave is a day-one right. The right to pay has additional requirements: 26 weeks of continuous employment by the relevant week, and average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit. Statutory neonatal care pay is paid at the same rate as other statutory family pay (currently 184.03 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower). Employers who don't meet the pay criteria still must grant the unpaid leave.

How Neonatal Care Leave Works in Practice

The mechanics of neonatal care leave are designed to be flexible, recognizing that neonatal care situations are unpredictable.

Accrual during neonatal care

Parents accrue one week of neonatal care leave for each week (or part-week) that the baby receives neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. If the baby is in neonatal care for 8 weeks, each parent is entitled to 8 weeks of neonatal care leave. If the care extends to 15 weeks, the entitlement is capped at 12 weeks per parent.

When leave can be taken

The leave is split into two tiers. Tier 1 leave can be taken during the neonatal care period itself, on short notice, in blocks of at least one week. Tier 2 leave covers any remaining entitlement and must be taken within 68 weeks of the baby's birth (or placement for adoption). Tier 2 leave requires longer notice and must be taken in whole weeks. This structure lets parents take time off during the hospital stay and save remaining leave for after the baby comes home.

Notice requirements

For Tier 1 leave (during the neonatal care period), employees only need to give notice before their first day of absence. The regulations recognize that neonatal admissions are unplanned. For Tier 2 leave (after neonatal care ends), employees must give at least 15 days' notice for a single week of leave, or 28 days' notice for blocks of 2 or more weeks. These periods can be varied by agreement between employer and employee.

How Neonatal Care Leave Interacts with Other Family Leave

One of the most important features is that neonatal care leave sits on top of existing entitlements. Here's how it interacts with each type.

Leave TypeInteraction with Neonatal Care LeaveKey Point
Maternity leaveNeonatal care leave is in addition to 52 weeks of maternity leaveMothers on maternity leave can pause it, take neonatal care leave, then resume maternity leave
Paternity leaveNeonatal care leave is in addition to 2 weeks of paternity leavePartners can take paternity leave and neonatal care leave separately or consecutively
Shared parental leaveNeonatal care leave is in addition to SPL entitlementSPL curtailment calculations aren't affected by neonatal care leave taken
Adoption leaveApplies to adoptive parents if the child requires neonatal care within 28 days of placementSame 12-week maximum applies
Annual leaveContinues to accrue during neonatal care leaveEmployees can't be required to use annual leave instead of neonatal care leave

Neonatal Care in the UK: Key Statistics

These numbers show the scale of the issue and why this legislation was needed.

~90,000
Babies admitted to neonatal care in the UK each yearBliss / NNRD, 2024
1 in 7
Babies born in the UK that need neonatal careBliss charity, 2024
40%
Of fathers who had a baby in neonatal care and returned to work within the first weekBliss survey, 2021
70%
Of families affected by neonatal care who reported financial hardshipBliss, 2023

How Employers Should Prepare

April 2025 is the deadline. Here's what HR teams need to do before then.

  • Update leave policies: Add a dedicated neonatal care leave section to your family leave policy. Don't bury it in a footnote under maternity leave. It's a standalone right and should be clearly documented.
  • Configure payroll systems: Statutory neonatal care pay needs to be processed separately. Work with your payroll provider to ensure the system can handle the new pay type, calculate entitlement based on weeks of neonatal care, and apply the correct rate.
  • Brief managers: Line managers are often the first point of contact. They need to know this right exists, that it's a day-one entitlement, and that Tier 1 leave can be requested at very short notice. Sensitivity training matters here since these are deeply stressful situations for parents.
  • Review enhanced family leave: If your organization offers enhanced maternity or paternity pay, decide whether you'll also enhance neonatal care pay above the statutory rate. Many family-friendly employers will be expected to.
  • Update employee handbooks and intranet: Employees need to be able to find information about neonatal care leave easily. Don't wait until someone asks.

Employment Protections During Neonatal Care Leave

The protections mirror those for other family leave types.

Protection against detriment

Employees are protected against any detriment for taking or requesting neonatal care leave. This includes being overlooked for promotion, receiving a poor performance review because of absence, or being selected for redundancy because of the leave. The protections apply during the leave and after the employee returns.

Right to return

Employees have the right to return to the same job after neonatal care leave. If returning to the same job isn't reasonably practicable (for example, after a long period combining neonatal care leave with other family leave), the employee must be offered a suitable alternative role on no less favorable terms. During any redundancy process, employees on neonatal care leave have priority for suitable alternative vacancies, similar to the protection during maternity leave.

Dismissal protections

Dismissing an employee for taking or requesting neonatal care leave is automatically unfair. There's no qualifying service period for this claim, meaning even new employees can bring an unfair dismissal claim if the reason was connected to neonatal care leave. Employers should document carefully that any dismissal during or shortly after neonatal care leave is genuinely unrelated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does neonatal care leave apply to babies born before April 2025?

The entitlement applies to babies whose neonatal care begins on or after 6 April 2025. If a baby was born before that date but is still receiving neonatal care when the legislation takes effect, the position depends on the specific transitional provisions in the regulations. Employers should check the final regulations for guidance on borderline cases.

Can both parents take neonatal care leave at the same time?

Yes. Each parent has an individual entitlement. If both parents are employed, they can each take up to 12 weeks of neonatal care leave. They can take it at the same time or at different times. There's no requirement for parents to coordinate or share their entitlement.

What if the baby is moved between hospitals during neonatal care?

Transfers between hospitals don't restart or interrupt the neonatal care period. The leave entitlement is based on the total continuous period of neonatal care, regardless of which hospital provides it. If the baby is discharged and then readmitted within 28 days of birth, the periods may be linked depending on the specific circumstances.

Can an employer ask for proof of neonatal care?

Employers can ask employees to provide a declaration confirming that the qualifying conditions are met. However, employers should be sensitive about the timing and nature of evidence requests. Asking for a hospital letter while a parent is sitting in a NICU isn't appropriate. A self-declaration or a brief confirmation from the hospital should be sufficient. The regulations don't require a specific form of evidence.

Does neonatal care leave apply to surrogacy arrangements?

The intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement can qualify for neonatal care leave if they meet the eligibility criteria and have or expect to have parental responsibility for the child. The specific rules depend on the parental order process and the employment status of the intended parents. This is a developing area of law, and employers may want to take legal advice on complex surrogacy situations.

What if the baby sadly passes away during neonatal care?

The entitlement to neonatal care leave doesn't end if the baby dies during or after neonatal care. Parents retain their accrued leave entitlement and can take it as planned. This recognizes that bereaved parents need time to grieve. It works alongside the existing right to parental bereavement leave (2 weeks), giving parents additional protected time off during an incredibly difficult period.
Adithyan RKWritten by Adithyan RK
Surya N
Fact-checked by Surya N
Published on: 25 Mar 2026Last updated:
Share:
Previous
Next