Neonatal Care Leave
Published: 23 Jan 2025

By Simon Kelleher, Head of Policy & Influencing
Working Families are delighted to see that the government has confirmed that parents who have a baby in neonatal care will be entitled to additional time off as a day one right from 6th April 2025.
Unfortunately, over the years our helpline has heard from many families who have had to make a devastating choice between spending time with their sick baby in hospital, or continuing to work as they didn’t have access to the time-off they needed.
Having a baby arrive early can be incredibly stressful. The first few days or weeks can be very uncertain and scary for parents especially if they are separated from their baby or the baby is moved to another hospital for care, all whilst trying to recover from the birth.
Currently, fathers only receive two weeks statutory leave and may be faced with a decision to forego their earnings and take additional unpaid leave, at a time when their partner will be on a reduced income, use annual leave, thereby reducing the overall time they have to play a role in parenting their child during the first year, or continue working and not be by their child’s side and to support their partner.
During such a traumatic time, it’s important that an employee feels that their employer is supportive. Employees who do not have this support or access to leave may be distracted or not able to engage at work. They may even resent their employer if they are unsupportive and look elsewhere when the opportunity arises.
Working Families worked alongside Stuart McDonald MP and the charity Bliss to draft and review the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill, which became law in 2023. In particular, we worked to widen eligibility in line with other maternity rights, meaning that no mother will miss out on her entitlement, which will benefit those on lower pay, part-time workers and women taking sick pay or taking early maternity leave, which happens so often with babies in neonatal care.
Neonatal Care Leave will benefit thousands of families, who can now be by their baby’s side without fear that they will miss out on vital income or lose their job. The legislation will apply to babies up to 28 days old who are admitted to neonatal care for a stay of 7 days or longer. Parents will be entitled to take up to 12 weeks of leave (and if eligible, pay) in addition to their maternity or paternity leave. The regulations state that, similarly to maternity leave, parents will need to have 26 weeks of service to be eligible, and will only apply to babies born after 6th April.
Employers who want to support their employees going through such times can offer additional parental or care giving paid leave before April. They can also be supportive by providing space and saying they’ll check in at a certain point. This kind of support is free and goes a long way. Other recommendations are providing flexible working arrangements even if it’s just for a short time and letting all staff know of the help and support available.
Employer Best Practice
bp – Finalist 2024 Best for Mothers
- bp offer up to 12 weeks of full-pay Neonatal care leave, if a baby needs time in the hospital. Read more.
dentsu – Finalist 2023, Best Family Network
- Dentsu’s new policy provides all parents from day one of working for dentsu in the UK with up to twelve weeks of additional paid parental leave, for each week their baby is cared for in hospital. Read more.
Neonatal Leave and Pay
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act is intended to support parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care within 28 days of birth. Eligible employees will be able to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave in addition to their other family leave entitlements such as maternity and paternity leave. Neonatal Care Leave is a day-one right. The Act will come into force on 6th April 2025.