From 6 April 2025, the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 (“the Act”) will introduce a new day one statutory right for employees to take neo-natal care leave. The purpose of the Act is to provide additional support for parents (or those with other qualifying relationships with the child) to take time off work to care for a baby born, after 6 April 2025, who requires hospital care. 

The Act will entitle parents to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave if they have a neonate baby (being a baby who is 28 days old or less) who is admitted into hospital for care for 7 continuous days or more. The entitlement to take neonatal leave will be in addition to other maternity, parental, paternity, and shared parental leave entitlements.  

Given that the NHS estimates that 1 in 7 babies in the UK need neonatal care and can remain in hospital for extended periods, the introduction of such neonatal leave will be extremely valuable to employees who find themselves in this position.

The Act also introduces an entitlement to statutory neonatal pay where the employee meets the relevant eligibility criteria, which are that they must have been employed for a minimum of 26 weeks prior to the leave being requested and be earning an average of at least £123 a week (the Lower Earning Limit). 

The rules around the taking of neonatal are complex in places and FMGS are available to assist employers in preparing for the introduction of such leave and we can provide a draft policy setting out the relevant entitlements for consideration.