WFM UK: Statutory Neonatal Care Leave & Pay Legislation

Overview

Statutory Neonatal Care Leave and Pay (SNCL&P), which received Royal Assent in May 2023, will come into effect from the 2025/2026 tax year. It is a new statutory right for parents whose child is admitted into neonatal care within 28 days of birth, who otherwise would have to use other forms of leave to have the time off work to be with their child. 

This article provides an insight into the legislation surrounding SNCL&P.

Statutory Neonatal Care Leave

Statutory Neonatal Care Leave is available from day one of employment and is accrued at one week for every seven days the child is in neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. The Neonatal Leave must be taken within 68 weeks of the child's birth. 

How leave is taken and processed is dependent on when it is taken. This can either be Tier One or Tier Two.

Eligibility

For a worker to be eligible for Statutory Neonatal Care Leave:

• The child must have been born on or after 6th April 2025
• The child must have been admitted into neonatal care within 28 days of their birth
• The child must have been in neonatal care for at least 7 consecutive days
• The worker must be classed as an employee from the first day of their employment
• The employee must be employed in England, Scotland or Wales
  • SNCL&P is not available in Northern Ireland
• The employee must be the parent or adopter of the child, or have recognised responsibility for the child
• The employee must give notice of their intention to take leave (See Notice Periods for Neonatal Care Leave)
• Each parent has their own right to Statutory Neonatal Care Leave, and it is not shared or combined

Accruing and Taking Statutory Neonatal Care Leave

• Leave is accrued at one week for every seven consecutive days the child is in neonatal care
• Leave is capped at 12 weeks
• Leave must be taken within 68 weeks of the child's birth
• Leave must be taken in a minimum of one week blocks, with more rules depending on if the leave is Tier One or Tier Two. 

• If a parent has multiple births (twins or more), their entitlement to leave remains the same as for a single child. They are not eligible for separate Neonatal Care Leave for each child

Tier One Leave

Tier One Leave is leave taken whilst the child is still receiving neonatal care, plus one week.

• For example, if the child is in neonatal care from 10th April 2025 to 21st May 2025, then the Tier One period would be 10th April 2025 to 28th May 2025 and any leave intended to be taken in that period is Tier One Leave

Tier One Leave is a flexible leave that can be taken at any time during the Tier One period. Tier One Leave does not have to be taken in one continuous block, but instead in single one-week blocks as and when the employee requires (weeks can still be taken continuously though, if the employee wants).

• For example, continuing to use the dates mentioned above, the employee could take one week of leave from the 10th of April to the 16th, then have 3 days back in work (or use holiday, or other parental leave), and then take another week of leave from the 20th of April to the 26th

Tier One Leave can be taken before other parental leave types, to accommodate any already planned parental leave, except for Maternity and/or Adoption Leave, as these parental leaves must begin, at the latest, as soon as the baby has been born or placed. It is unlikely Tier One leave will apply to those on Maternity or Adoption Leave, as neonatal care would be taken retrospectively, at the end of these leave types.

If Neonatal Care Leave needs to be taken suddenly, Tier One Leave can 'wrap around' existing 'interrupting' parental leave too. Tier One Leave cannot wrap around Sickness, Holiday, or Carers' Leave.

• For example, if an employee has one week of Paternity Leave booked from 26th May 2025 to 1st June 2025, but the child goes into neonatal care on the 22nd May 2025, then the one week of Neonatal Leave can still be applied from 22nd May 2025. The 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th of the Neonatal Leave week would apply, with the remaining three days tagging on the end of the existing paternity leave on the days 2nd, 3rd and 4th June 2025

 Fig.1 - Example of Neonatal Leave 'wrapping' around existing Parental Leave

Tier Two Leave

Tier Two Leave is leave taken after the Tier One period has ended, up until the end of the 68 weeks.

Tier Two Leave is a stricter leave in that it can only be taken in one continuous block. This means that if the employee still has 5 weeks of Neonatal Leave accrual remaining, all 5 weeks have to be taken in one go.

Tier Two also cannot wrap around any other type of 'interrupting' leave, including other parental leave, however it can still be taken before or after other parental leave types.

Full Working Example

For this example: 

• Employee has met eligibility criteria to receive Statutory Neonatal Care Leave
• Child was born on 1st May 2025
• Child was admitted to neonatal care on 10th May 2025
• Child was discharged from neonatal care on 27th June 2025

This means that:

• The Tier One Period is 10th May 2025 to 4th July 2025
• The Tier Two Period is 5th July 2025 to 19th August 2026
• The full 68 week window is from 1st May 2025 to 19th August 2026
• The employee accrued 7 weeks of Neonatal Care Leave between 10th May and 27th June 2025

Readmission to Neonatal Care

If the child is readmitted to neonatal care after being discharged, then the Tier One period opens back up from the readmitted date and Neonatal Leave can continue to be accrued up to a maximum of 12 weeks, including anything accrued in the first period of Neonatal Care. Readmission to Neonatal Care must still take place within 28 days of the child's birth.

Employee Has More Than One Child

In the event an employee has twins (or more), then:

• If the first child is admitted and discharged from neonatal care and then the second child is admitted to neonatal care after the discharge date of the first child, then this would work the same way as 'Readmission to Neonatal Care'
• If one child is admitted to neonatal care and then the other child(ren) are admitted to neonatal care afterwards, then both Neonatal Leave would continue to accrue and the Tier One Leave period would continue until the date of discharge of whichever child comes out of Neonatal Care last (plus one week for the Tier One period)
• For Neonatal Care Leave and Pay, the 'Baby Born Date' would be the birth date of the first child, in the event the children are born over two dates

Notice Periods for Neonatal Care Leave

Tier One Leave Weeks

• Tier One Neonatal Leave can be taken immediately, and the notice given to the employer must be before the employee is due to start work on their first day of leave from work
• If the employee is not able to give notice before they are due to start, as soon as reasonably practicable afterwards, work on the first day of leave from work
• The employee continues to provide notice on a one week rolling basis, for each week intended to be taken whilst the child is still in neonatal care
• Notice can be provided informally, such as a phone call or text message

Two Two Leave Weeks

• An employee wanting to take one week of Neonatal Leave will need to give at least 15 days' notice, before the first day of leave from work
• An employee wanting to take more than one week of continuous leave (two weeks or more in a row), then 28 days of notice is required (capped at 28 days notice)
• Notice must be provided formally, in writing (email or letter)

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay

Eligibility

For a worker to be eligible for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP), then they:

• Must have worked for the employer continuously for 26 weeks up to the relevant week.
• Remain employed whilst claiming SNCP
• Have an average weekly earnings of £125.00 or more
• Are eligible for Statutory Neonatal Care Leave, and have used the leave

What the Employee Will Get

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is aligned with the other parental leave types and will pay the same rate, subject to tax year. For the 2025/2026 Tax Year, this will be £187.18 per week, or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) if the employee is eligible for SNCP.

Employee is not Eligible

If the employee wants to claim SNCP, but is not eligible to do so, then the employer must provide them with a non-payment form for SNCP, or a SNCP1 within 28 days of their pay request.

Average Earnings Calculation

In the event the employee is, or will be, in receipt of another Statutory Parental Pay, then the relevant week for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay can align and use the same calculation as that parental type and the average earnings would be calculated on the 8 weeks before that relevant week. Essentially, the earnings calculated (for example SMP), would be the same earnings calculated for the SNCP. 

In the event the employee does not claim another Statutory Parental Pay, then the relevant week for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay will be the week before the week the child is admitted to neonatal care and the average earnings would be calculated on the 8 weeks before that relevant week.