Businesses will need to be aware of a new right to neonatal leave and pay that is due to come into effect in April 2025. In broad terms, the new right will give eligible employees whose baby is born on or after 6th April 2025 the right to take one week’s neonatal leave for every week their child spends in neonatal care capped at a maximum of twelve weeks. Some employees may also qualify for statutory neonatal care pay.
Right to leave
In brief, the right will apply to parents whose babies are admitted to neonatal care within the first 28 days of life and care continues for at least seven consecutive days. Eligible parents will be able to take neonatal care leave in blocks of a week, for each week their baby is in neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. The leave must be taken within 68 weeks of the baby’s birth. There is no qualifying period of service required to take the leave. How leave is taken and the notice requirements that apply depend on when an employee wants to take the leave.
The entitlement to neonatal care leave is available for employees who are the child’s parent or the partner of the child’s mother where they will have the responsibility for the upbringing of the child, or if they are the partner of the child’s mother, they will have the main responsibility (apart from any responsibility of the mother) for the upbringing of the child. Neonatal care leave can also be taken in adoption and surrogacy situations.
Neonatal care is defined as palliative or end of life care, medical care received in a hospital or medical care received in any other place that meets certain criteria set down in the regulations, such as where the care is under the direction of a consultant.
As you would expect, once the new right is in force employees are protected from being dismissed in connection with it or from being subject to a detriment.
Statutory neonatal care pay
Employees who take statutory neonatal leave may also qualify for statutory neonatal care pay if they meet continuity of service and minimum earnings thresholds. This will be paid at either the statutory flat rate of £187.18 per week for 2025/2026 (or 90% of normal weekly earnings if this is lower).
Next steps
Regulations required to bring the change of law into force have been laid before Parliament for approval. In advance of the change, it will be important to make sure the relevant people in your business are aware of the new right in case it’s needed to support one of your employees. Businesses will also need to update their contracts of employment and Employee Handbooks to reflect the new right.
We will provide further information on neonatal leave and the availability of document updates in due course. In the meantime, if you have a HR matter you would like to discuss please don’t hesitate to get in touch.