Preparing for the Neonatal Care Act: A guide for employers

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 (Act) received Royal Assent on 24 May 2023 and is expected to come into effect in the UK in April 2025.  The Act will give eligible parents up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for their baby should they need specialist care in a neonatal care unit.

At present, parents have no statutory right to take leave in the unfortunate event that their baby needs neonatal care after birth. Fathers and those with a parental or personal relationship with the child have traditionally had to use other forms of leave in order to spend time in hospital (such as holiday entitlement, maternity, paternity leave etc) if their employer does not offer compassionate leave.

Statutory Neonatal Care Leave (SNCL) will be a ‘day one’ right and will be capped at a maximum of 12 weeks leave, but to qualify, an employee must:

• Have a parental or personal relationship with the baby;
• Have a baby who is admitted to hospital for neonatal care within 28 days of birth;
• Have a baby who requires a minimum continuous hospital stay of 7 days; and
• Take the leave within the first 68 weeks of the baby's birth.

Parents who qualify for SNCL will be able to take it in addition to other statutory leave they may be eligible for, such as maternity, paternity, or shared parental leave.

Employees will also be entitled to receive Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP) if they:

• Have at least 28 weeks continuous service; and
• Earn above the lower earnings limit (in 2024/25, this figure is £123 per week).

Whilst the Act is expected to come into force in April 2025, we are still waiting for the Government to publish the necessary regulations that will set out the details of the SNCL and SNCP schemes and how they will work in practice.  However, it is very likely that this new leave and pay entitlement will mirror existing statutory schemes and have similar protections for employees against dismissal or being subjected to a detriment.

Pending further guidance, it is recommended that all employers review their current provision for employees who need to take a period of leave as a result of their baby requiring neonatal care.  The provisions introduced by the Act will be a statutory minimum, but there is nothing to stop employers from offering enhanced leave and pay as a contractual benefit.

If you would like to know more about the Act, please call our Employment Law team today on 0113 207 0000.