New right to Neonatal leave and pay to commence in April 2025

The Government has recently announced a new right to neonatal leave and pay to be introduced from 6 April 2025. Such a right follows the passing of the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 and will be introduced as a ‘day one right’ to neonatal leave for working families with babies in neonatal care and is expected to benefit around 60,000 new parents.

Previously, there was no specific statutory right to leave or pay for employees if their baby required specialist neonatal care after birth, where they would have been required to have used their existing statutory leave entitlement (such as maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave or paternity leave) or annual leave whilst their baby was in hospital. A 2019 survey by Bliss, a charity for premature and sick babies, showed that 36% of fathers and partners were signed off sick and 11% of parents left their jobs where their baby was in neonatal care. Such a change in the law, therefore, represents a significant change for those working parents being able to spend, time with their babies when they are in a most vulnerable position without having to worry about work at the same time when the new Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act will address these issues.

The Act will apply in respect of children born on or after 6 April 2025. There will be no qualifying period of employment needed to receive the right of statutory neonatal care leave but it will apply to employees who have a parental or “other personal relationship” (this will be later defined in the regulations) to a child who is receiving, or has received, neonatal care. Employees will need to adhere to the notice requirements to express their intention to take such leave, similarly to other family-friendly leave. “Neonatal care” applies to parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care up to 28 days old and who have a continuous stay in hospital of 7 full days or longer. The Act will allow eligible parents to take up to 12 weeks of leave on top of any other leave they may be entitled to, i.e. maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave and shared parental leave.  Alongside this, Statutory Neonatal Care Pay will be available to those who meet continuity of service requirements and a minimum earnings threshold.

This is a welcomed change for many with it being important that employers are prepared to implement this change within their organisations. We would suggest that employers undertake the following steps in readiness for this new law coming into force:

• Familiarise themselves with the new rules and eligibility requirements;
• Implement a policy before the introduction of this new law;
• Ensure that contracts are up-to-date to reflect this new statutory entitlement; and
• Communicate such changes to your workforce.

If you need support with implementing this change within your organisation, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our employment team who will be happy to help.