April 2025: New leave and pay for parents of newborns needing hospital care comes in – a heads-up.

Details of how the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 will work in practice have now been released under the Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025.

Note: The proposals are still subject to parliamentary approval and therefore some amendments may still be made before they come into force on 6 April 2025.

Turnstone HR clients will receive a newsletter with details of how to implement these new statutory rights for parents once the detail is finalised.

What is it?

Neonatal care leave and pay was introduced to fill the gap where parents’ statutory leave (such as paternity or maternity) expires, leaving them with no choice but to take unpaid leave or sick leave, or in some cases resign from their jobs, when their new baby needs neonatal medical care.

When will it come in?

Neonatal care leave and pay will come into force for children born on, or after, 6 April 2025. There is no qualifying service for the leave, but there is for the pay. (Statutory Neonatal Care Pay).

Who will get it?

The new law covers parents whose babies:

· are admitted to neonatal care within the first 28 days after birth; and

· require a hospital stay of seven full days or longer. This includes palliative or end of life care, or medical care received in a hospital or another place where:

i. the child was an inpatient in hospital and the care is received upon leaving hospital

ii. the care is under the direction of a consultant

iii. the care includes ongoing monitoring by, and visits to the child from, healthcare professionals arranged by the hospital.

Employees must be taking it to care for the child, give the required notice and be either:

a. the child’s parent, an intended parent of the child, or the partner of the child’s mother at the date of birth

b. in cases of adoption be the child’s adopter, prospective adopter, or the partner of either at the date the child is placed

c. an overseas adopter, or the partner of an overseas adopter at the date the child enters Great Britain.

How long will they get it for?

A maximum of 12 weeks’ leave is available, and it must be taken before the end of 68 weeks beginning with the child’s date of birth.

How do they take it?

There are two tiers of neonatal care leave. How it is taken, and the notice requirements in each case are different. The details appear complex and Turnstone HR will support client organisations with the relevant HR documentation when the arrangements are finalised under parliamentary approval.

The employee’s rights during neonatal care leave

The protections during and after neonatal care leave are the same as for other statutory family-related leave types. This includes the right not to suffer a detriment or dismissal as a result of taking, or seeking to take, the leave and the right to return to the same job – or a job of similar status (depending on how long the total period off work is) after neonatal care leave.

Employees taking neonatal care leave are entitled to the same redundancy protection as for employees on maternity leave. The protected period begins after six consecutive weeks of neonatal care leave and ends 18 months after the child was born or placed for adoption.

Statutory Neonatal Leave Pay

This is available to those who:

a. had 26 weeks’ continuous employment ending with the relevant week

b. had average earnings of not less than the lower earnings limit for the eight weeks ending with the relevant week.

The relevant week is the week immediately before neonatal care starts.

Up to 12 weeks’ Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is available.

What do I need to do?

These statutory rights will have implications for payroll and HR documentation but at present it would be too soon to update your policies and procedures.

Watch this space.