What the law says
A baby might get neonatal care if they:
- are born early
- are ill or injured when they are born
- have a low birth weight
Neonatal care leave allows parents to have additional time off if their baby needs neonatal care. The law is the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023.
It can be used after the baby leaves neonatal care. For example, at the end of maternity leave.
Parents might be eligible for neonatal care leave if:
- the baby is admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth
- the baby has been in neonatal care for at least 7 full and consecutive days
- they are the baby's parent or partner of the birth parent, and have caring responsibility for the baby
Parents can take 1 week of leave for each full week the baby spends in neonatal care.
A maximum of 12 weeks' leave is available.
Eligible parents can take neonatal care leave regardless of how long they’ve worked for their employer.
What neonatal care includes
Neonatal care could include:
- medical care received in a hospital
- palliative or end-of-life care
Neonatal care can also continue after leaving hospital. This ongoing care needs to be under direction from a consultant.
Care does not need to take place in a neonatal unit to be classed as neonatal care.
Neonatal care pay
To be eligible for neonatal care pay, employees must have 26 weeks of continuous service.
Eligible employees are entitled to whichever is lower:
- £194.32 a week
- 90% of their average weekly earnings
Find out more about neonatal care pay
How much leave parents can take
The baby must be in care for at least 7 full and consecutive days before parents can take neonatal care leave. This means the first day in care will be the day after the baby is admitted.
Parents will get one week of leave for each full week the baby is in care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
Neonatal care leave is calculated in full weeks only. Part weeks are not included.
For example, if the baby is in neonatal care for:
- 3 full weeks, the parents get 3 weeks' neonatal care leave
- 17 days, the parents get 2 weeks' neonatal care leave
Example of calculating neonatal care leave entitlement
Im's baby is born on 7 April and needs neonatal care straight away. Their baby is in neonatal care until 22 April.
The 7 consecutive days starts on 8 April and ends on 15 April. The baby has been in neonatal care 2 full weeks including the first qualifying days. Im has accrued 2 weeks of neonatal care leave in total.
Find out more about how much leave parents can take in the employers' technical guide on GOV.UK
When parents can take leave
Neonatal care leave is in addition to other types of time off such as statutory:
- maternity leave
- paternity leave
- adoption leave
- shared parental leave
- parental bereavement leave
- bereaved partner's paternity leave
Parents must take leave within 68 weeks of the child's birth. Neonatal care leave can be taken before or after other statutory parental leave that's already booked.
Employees cannot take 2 types of leave at the same time. They should not pause their statutory parental leave to switch to neonatal care leave.
For example, an employee starts maternity leave before their child is born. Their child is taken into neonatal care immediately following birth. The employee can still take neonatal care leave, but it will be added to the end of their maternity leave.
2 tiers of leave
Leave can be taken in 2 tiers. These are split by when the leave is taken.
Tier 1 covers the time when the child is still receiving care. It extends to 1 week after that care ends.
Tier 2 covers any remaining leave taken after tier 1. It must be used within 68 weeks of the child’s birth.
Example of tier 1 leave when the child is still receiving care
Pat's baby is born early and is in neonatal care for 4 weeks in total from birth. Pat takes 2 weeks of paternity leave straight after the birth. They then take a further 2 consecutive weeks of neonatal care leave when their paternity leave ends. Pat has 2 more weeks of neonatal care leave accrued to take at a later time.
Example of tier 2 leave after the child has stopped receiving care
Pat's baby is now at home after 4 weeks in total in neonatal care. Pat gives notice to take the remaining 2 weeks of neonatal care in 1 month's time. This allows Pat to take time off as soon as they can to continue the baby's at home care.
If parents have not already booked leave
Employees can only start neonatal care leave after the first 7 full days of neonatal care.
If they are not already on planned leave, they might need to use another type of leave for those first 7 days. This could be time off for dependants.
Example of using a different type of leave
Sam has booked 2 weeks of paternity leave at the end of May. Sam's baby was born early and taken into neonatal care on 14 April. The baby is in care until 2 May.
Sam cannot take neonatal care leave until 22 April. Sam's neonatal care leave will last until 6 May.
Sam takes the first 7 days as time off for dependants.