Legal Update – Neonatal Care Leave and Pay
From the 6 April 2025, working families with babies in neonatal care will receive a day one right to the new form of leave and eligible employees who meet a certain criteria will be entitled to statutory neonatal care pay.
Neonatal care leave – a brief summary
From the 6 April 2025, working families with babies in neonatal care will receive a day one right to the new form of leave and eligible employees who meet a certain criteria will be entitled to statutory neonatal care pay.
Neonatal care leave – a brief summary
- 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. It must be taken in weekly blocks.
- The neonatal care must begin with 28 days of the child’s birth and last for a continuous period of at least seven days (not including the day on which care starts).
- The employee must have a qualifying parental or other personal relationship with the child. NCL may be taken where a child has been adopted, including from overseas, as well as in parental order (surrogacy) cases.
- NCL may be taken in addition to other types of statutory family leave but must be taken within the first 68 weeks of a child’s birth.
- NCL is a day-one right.
- Employees must comply with the notice requirements.
- Employees have the right to return to the same job (or, in certain circumstances, to return to a suitable and appropriate alternative job).
- Employees are protected from detriment or dismissal relating to NCL.
- Employees who are taking or have recently returned to work from NCL are entitled to be offered suitable alternative employment on redundancy in priority to other employees.
- The employee must have a parental or other personal relationship with a child who is receiving, or has received, neonatal care. This includes adoption and parental order cases.
- The neonatal care must begin with 28 days of the child’s birth and last for a continuous period of at least seven days (not including the day on which care starts).
- The employee must have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service ending with the relevant week.
- The employee must have received normal weekly earnings, for a period of eight weeks ending with the relevant week, of not less than the lower earnings limit.
- SNCP is paid at the same rate as SPP or SSPP.
- SNCP may be paid for a maximum of 12 weeks and is payable within the first 68 weeks after the child’s birth.
- Employees must comply with the notice requirements.
