Glossary · UK
What is Neonatal Care Leave and Pay?
A UK statutory entitlement, in force since April 2025, giving eligible parents up to 12 weeks of additional leave and pay if their baby receives neonatal care shortly after birth, on top of existing maternity, paternity, or adoption leave.
Full Definition
Neonatal Care Leave and Pay is a UK statutory entitlement that came into force on 6 April 2025, giving eligible employed parents whose baby is admitted to neonatal care up to 12 weeks of additional leave -- on top of any maternity, paternity, shared parental, or adoption leave they are separately entitled to -- where the baby is admitted to hospital for neonatal care within 28 days of birth and the admission lasts for 7 full days or more. The entitlement recognises that a baby needing an extended stay in neonatal care can mean a parent's existing leave is substantially used up caring for a poorly newborn in hospital, leaving little or none of the normal leave period left over for once the baby comes home. The leave is a day-one employment right, meaning there is no minimum length of service required to take Neonatal Care Leave itself, and each parent can take one week of leave for each full week their baby spends in neonatal care, up to the 12-week maximum, with the leave available to be taken up to 68 weeks after the baby's birth to allow for babies who need a long hospital stay followed by a period at home before the parent takes the leave. Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, by contrast, does require a minimum length of service and average earnings test similar to other statutory family pay entitlements (26 weeks' continuous employment by the relevant qualifying week, and average weekly earnings at or above the lower earnings limit), and is paid at the same weekly rate as other statutory family pay rates (or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower), for eligible employees. The entitlement applies to both parents, not just the mother, and is designed to sit alongside -- not replace -- existing maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave and pay entitlements, so a parent whose baby needs neonatal care can, in principle, take their full normal leave entitlement plus additional Neonatal Care Leave for the weeks the baby was in neonatal care, substantially extending total time off work for families facing this circumstance. Employers should note the leave is protected in the same way as other family leave, meaning an employee cannot be dismissed, selected for redundancy, or otherwise treated less favourably for taking or seeking to take Neonatal Care Leave.