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 instructions for the functionality in the Payroll module surrounding SNCL&P. An article on an insight into the legislation can be found here.
Contents
- Creating a Neonatal Record
- Booking Neonatal Leave
- Neonatal Care Pay
- Override Earnings
- View (and Override) Entitlement
- Re-Admitted to Neonatal Care
Creating a Neonatal Record
To find and apply a Statutory Neonatal Care Leave record, go to:
- Use the side menu and go to Payroll > Employees > Employee List > select the required Employee
- Then use the employee side menu and go to Payroll > Employee Payroll Info > Statutory Neonatal Leave
This will land on the Statutory Neonatal Care Leave list page.
- To add a new record, select Add Statutory Neonatal Leave
Fig.1 - Neonatal List Page
At this stage, the Neonatal record can be linked to an existing Parental Leave Type, such as Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay. This ensures that the detail is carried through to the Neonatal record, such as the baby's birth date and the average earnings calculation for eligibility of Statutory Pay.
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To do this, select the required Parental Leave Type from the list
or - To create the Neonatal Leave without linking to a Parental Leave Type, select Continue without Linking a Parental Record (see Fig.5 below)
Fig.2 - Creating a New Neonatal Record - linking a Parental Leave Type or continuing without
If an existing Parental Leave Type is linked, the details will be shown and the only other required information is the date the child was admitted into neonatal care.
- Complete the Date Admitted Into Neonatal Care and select Next
Fig.3 - Creating a New Neonatal Record (Linked to Parental Leave)
The page will update and will present the linked parental types data in detail. This is what will be used for this Neonatal Record.
- If making any changes to the information on this page, make sure to select Apply
Fig.4 - A created Neonatal Record (Linked)
- If Continue without Linking a Parental Record was selected, the Neonatal Record will ask for the Baby Born Date as well as the Date Admitted Into Neonatal Care field
Fig.5 -Creating a New Neonatal Record (Not Linked to Parental Leave)
The next page will present the Neonatal Record and the details it will use.
- If making any changes to the information on this page, make sure to select Apply
Fig.6 - A created Neonatal Record (Not Linked to Parental Leave)
Regardless of whether a Parental Leave Type is linked to the Neonatal Leave record or not, the fields available will be the same:
- Baby Born Date - If linked to a Parental Leave Type, then this field will not be prepopulated and not editable. If not linked to a Parental Leave Type, then enter the baby's birth date here. This will determine the 68 week window in which leave should be taken, as well as determining the 28 day window in which the child has been admitted to neonatal care
- Neonatal Leave Window - As per above, when the 'Baby Born Date is present, the 68 week window in which to take Neonatal Leave will be shown. Leave can only be booked within these 68 weeks
- Date Admitted Into Neonatal Care - This is the date entered as part of the Neonatal Leave Record creation, and should be the date the child was admitted into neonatal care. If this date is beyond 28 days from the 'Baby Born Date, then the record will not be created
- Date Discharged from Neonatal Care - If the child has been discharged from neonatal care, then this date should be added. Applying this date will update the interactive calendar with the Tier Two period. It will also stop any further accrual of Neonatal Care Leave
- Number of Neonatal Leave Weeks Accrued - This field displays the amount of Neonatal Leave the employee has available and will update in real-time. A week will be accrued every 7 continuous days from the Date Admitted Into Neonatal Care. Accrual will stop when a discharged date has been entered
- Employee Excluded - This field will detail if the employee is excluded from receiving Statutory Neonatal Care Pay. More details on this are below
- Select Save to continue
Fig.7 - Required Neonatal Record Information
Booking Neonatal Leave
- Regardless of whether a Parental Leave Type is linked to the Neonatal Leave record or not, the next step is to select Book Neonatal Leave (at the top of the Neonatal Record page - see Fig.7)
This page will show the following:
- A total of the Neonatal Leave Weeks Accrued and the Neonatal Leave Weeks Booked/Taken, a summary of the Neonatal Leave Window (68 Weeks)
- A table of all the booked leave, and its status in regards to leave type, payment amount and status
- Then below that, an interactive booking calendar displaying the full 68 weeks of the neonatal leave window - see more details below
Fig.8 - Book Neonatal Leave Page
Interactive Booking Calendar
- To see a key that describes all of the visual aspects of the calendar, select Show the Key for this Page
Fig.9 - Opening the Interactive Calendar Key
Fig.10 - The Interactive Calendar Key
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As per the key, any days in the calendar that are unavailable will be greyed-out with an abbreviation to explain why. Neonatal Leave cannot be booked on these days:
- SPP - Employee has Statutory Paternity Leave booked
- SMP - Employee has Statutory Maternity Leave booked
- SAP - Employee has Statutory Adaption Leave booked
- SHPP - Employee has Statutory Shared Parental Leave booked
- SPBP - Employee has Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave booked
- SNCP - Employee has Statutory Neonatal Care Leave booked
- HOL - Employee has a Holiday booked
- OFF - Employee has a Sickness Absence Day
- CL - Employee has Carers Leave booked
- As per the key, any days with red text would affect the booking of Neonatal Leave, due to it needing to be booked as full weeks. Neonatal Leave cannot be booked on these days
- As per the key, any days with the text in italics serve as a warning and indicate days where an employee may have a sickness absence, but the absence record has no end date. It is important to check if the employee is still off sick before booking Neonatal Leave, because whilst it can still be booked on these days, legally they cannot take sickness and parental leave at the same time
Fig.11 - Interactive Calendar - Unavailable Days
- As per the key, any dates with a green border indicate that this is the Tier One period, and any dates with a blue border indicate that this is the Tier Two period
- Any dates with a red border indicate that this is a period within the 68 weeks that exists after an employee's termination date, if terminated
Fig.12 - Interactive Calendar - Different Periods of the Neonatal Leave Window
- Also, hovering the mouse cursor over any day will detail why it cannot be booked.
Fig.13 - Interactive Calendar - Reason for Unavailability
Booking Tier One Leave
Booking Tier One or Tier Two is done the same way, from within the interactive calendar, but different validations will apply.
Remember, anything greyed-out or has red text, cannot be selected to book a Neonatal Leave week. This may be the day wanting to be selected itself being unavailable, or any days before it that would not enable a full week of Neonatal Leave to be booked.
- To book Neonatal Leave within a Tier One Period, select the day the Neonatal Leave week will start from within the green borders
Fig.14 - Interactive Calendar - Select a Day in Tier One
This will present a pop-up window to book and confirm the leave week, with the following fields available:
- Date Selected- This field is displayed to serve as a reminder as to which date was selected when booking the leave week
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Notified Date - Enter a date when the employee gave notice they intend/have taken leave
Note - This date does not validate against eligibility for leave or pay
- Week To Book -If wanting to book more than one week of Neonatal Leave in a single block, then several weeks can be entered here to save having to book each individual week
- Select Save
Fig.15 - Interactive Calendar - Booking Leave
The interactive calendar will then update with the leave week, as well as the table above the calendar displaying the booked leave week and its status. The number of Leave Weeks Booked/Taken will also update with the number of weeks booked:
Fig.16 - Interactive Calendar - Booked Leave
Tier One Leave - Wrapping Around Existing Leave
With Tier One Neonatal Leave, it can 'wrap around' existing parental leave too (but not other types of leave) in the event the existing parental leave would otherwise interrupt the Neonatal week.
Below is an example with a week of Statutory Paternity Leave booked in from the 15th May:
Fig.17 - Interactive Calendar - Existing Parental Leave
Following the same process of booking leave, selecting 12th May and booking the leave will still be allowed, and it can be seen to 'wrap around' the week of Paternity Leave:
Fig.18 - Interactive Calendar - SNCP Wrapped around existing Leave
The Neonatal Leave table will update with this leave, with an asterisk detailing that it is a leave week impeded by an existing parental leave:
Fig.19 - Interactive Calendar - SNCP in the Booked Leave Table
Booking Tier Two Leave
Booking Tier One or Tier Two is done the same way from within the interactive calendar, but different validations will apply.
Remember, anything greyed-out or has red text, cannot be selected to book a Neonatal Leave week. This may be the day wanting to be selected itself being unavailable, or any days before it that would not enable a full week of Neonatal Leave to be booked.
- To book Neonatal Leave within a Tier One Period, select the day the Neonatal Leave week will start from within the blue borders:
Fig.20 - Interactive Calendar - Select a Day in Tier Two
This will present a pop-up window to book and confirm the leave week, with the following fields available:
- Date Selected- This field is displayed to serve as a reminder as to which date was selected when booking the leave week
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Notified Date - Enter a date when the employee gave notice they intend/have taken leave
- Week To Book -If wanting to book more than one week of Neonatal Leave in a single block, then several weeks can be entered here to save having to book each individual week
- Select Save
Fig.21 - Interactive Calendar - Booking Leave
The interactive calendar will then update with the leave week, as well as the table above the calendar displaying the booked leave week and its status. The number of Leave Weeks Booked/Taken will also update with the number of weeks booked:
Fig.22 - Interactive Calendar - SNCP in the Booked Leave Table
Fig.23 - Interactive Calendar - SNCP Booked and Wrapped Around Existing Leave
Continuing from the screenshot above, it can be seen that every day in the Tier Two period is now unavailable to book leave from, except for the day after the currently booked Neonatal Leave in the Tier Two period. This is because all Neonatal Leave taken in the Tier Two period has to be taken in one continuous block. The day after the currently booked leave is available to book any remaining leave from as it would be continuous.
In this example, the employee has accrued 7 weeks of leave and only booked two in the Tier Two period. The remaining 5 weeks would need to be booked from the 7th July (in the above screenshot). If the full 7 weeks should be taken at a completely different time, then the booked leave would need removing and then re-booking correctly.
Deleting Neonatal Leave Weeks
Neonatal Leave weeks can be deleted, but only if they have not been processed and paid.
- This can be done by selecting the Delete tick box, and selecting the Delete button:
Fig.24 - Booked Neonatal Leave - Delete
The calendar will then update, with the deletion of that leave week:
Fig.25 - Updated Interactive Calendar
Neonatal Leave - Other Areas of the System
There are several other areas of the system that Neonatal Leave will have an impact on:
- Other Statutory Parental Leave
- Booking Holidays
- Booking Carers Leave
- Sickness Absences
- Rotas
- Scheduling
When creating another Parental Leave Record (such as Paternity) and attempting to book leave where a conflicting Neonatal Leave Week exists, then the following error will be presented (see Fig.26).
- Note: Whilst Tier One Neonatal Leave can wrap around other parental leave, the parental leave has to exist first
Fig.26 - Unable to Book other Leave with Neonatal Booked
When an employee, or user, attempts to book a holiday on a day where a Neonatal Leave Week exists, then the following error will be presented:
Fig.27 - Unable to Book other Leave with Neonatal Booked
When attempting to add a Carers Leave day on a day where a Neonatal Leave Week exists, then the following error will be presented:
Fig.28 - Unable to Book other Leave with Neonatal Booked
When attempting to add an absence day on a day where a Neonatal Leave Week exists, then the following error will be presented:
Fig.29 - Unable to Book other Leave with Neonatal Booked
When Neonatal Leave is booked, it will appear on the Rota, in the Rota Module, as SNC (Statutory Neonatal Care):
Fig.30 - Booked Neonatal leave on the rota (SNC)
When Neonatal Leave is booked, it will appear on the Schedule, in Scheduling, as SNC (Statutory Neonatal Care):
Fig.31 - Booked Neonatal leave on the schedule (SNC)
Neonatal Care Pay
Once a Neonatal Leave Week(s) has been booked, then, if eligible, the employee will be paid Statutory Neonatal Care Pay in the pay period the Neonatal Leave Week ends.
Employee Payroll Summary
The Neonatal Pay will be seen in the employee's Payroll Summary, when it is due to pay:
Fig.32 - Employee Payroll Summary - Neonatal Care Pay
Payroll Previews
The Neonatal Pay will be seen in the payroll previews, when it is due to pay:
Fig.33 - On Screen Payroll Preview - Neonatal Care Pay
Fig.34 - Exported Payroll Preview (Basic) - Neonatal Care Pay
Company P32 (Reclaim)
The ability to reclaim 92% (or 108.5% if a Small Employer) is available via the Company P32:
Fig.35 - P32 (Reclaim) - Tax Month - Neonatal Care Pay
Fig.36 - P32 (Reclaim) - Year To Date - Neonatal Care Pay
Reports and Exports
The following reports have been updated to include Statutory Neonatal Care Leave and Pay:
Payroll Module > Reports > View Reports
- Payroll Month End Summary
- Payroll P30 Summary (Statutory Neonatal Pay reclaim amounts only)
- Payroll Summary - Individual Pay Period
- Payroll Summary - Year To Date
- Payroll Summary with TRONC - Individual Pay Period
- All Pay slip Reports
- Payroll Reconciliation V2
The following exports have been updated to include Statutory Neonatal Leave and Pay:
Payroll Module > Reports > Exports
- HMRC Reconciliation
- Nominal Ledger Exports
- P11 YTD
- P30 Summary Export
- P35 Employee Details
- P35 for Year End
- Pay Basis Summary
- Payroll YTD Upload Reconciliation
Override Earnings
In the event the employee's average weekly earnings calculation needs adjusting, then there is 'Override Earnings' functionality.
If the Neonatal Record was linked to another Parental Leave Type, then the earnings cannot be overridden via the Neonatal Record.
Remember: 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.
The Neonatal Record is using the same earnings as the linked parental type, indicated within the page:
Fig.37 - Earnings used for Neonatal (Linked)
The Override Earnings button will not appear, and to override earnings for the Neonatal Record in this scenario, then the earnings will need to be overridden via (and for) the linked parental record.
If the Neonatal Record was not linked to another Parental Leave Type, then the earnings can be overridden via the Neonatal Record.
Remember: 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.
The Neonatal Record is using its own calculation, when not linked, and this is indicated in the page, as well as the Override Earnings button being available:
Fig.38 - Earnings used for Neonatal (Unlinked)
- Select Override Earnings and enter a figure for Average Earnings Override and supply a Reason
- Then select Save
Fig.39 - Override Earnings (Unlinked Record)
Once saved, the earnings will override to this new value and be updated within the Neonatal Records page:
Fig.40 - Used Earnings after Override (Unlinked)
View (and Override) Entitlement
The place to see entitlement information in more detail is by selecting the View Entitlement button, which can be done for records both linked or unlinked to another Parental Leave Type:
Fig.41 - 'View Entitlement' Button
This will present a pop-up window, and if the employee is not eligible, then the page will say so and give detail as to why.
- If the reason for exclusion is due to earnings, this can be overridden by following the Override Earnings section
- If the user wants to override the exclusion for any other reason, then this can be done by selecting Override Exclusion and providing a reason, and then Save:
Fig.42 - View Entitlement (Pop Up) - Ineligible Employee
If the employee is Eligible, then the page will detail this, but this time there will be an option to set the exclusion manually, if the employee should be excluded.
- If the employee should be excluded, then select Exclude from SNCP and provide a reason, then select Save:
Fig.43 - View Entitlement (Pop Up) - Eligible Employee
If that exclusion should be overridden, then the override exclusion process above can be used.
Readmitted to Neonatal Care
- In the event the employee's child is discharged from neonatal care, but then re-admitted within the same 28 days from the Baby Born Date, then return to the employee's Neonatal Record
Note: This button will only appear if a Date Discharged from Neonatal Care has been added.
- Select Re-Admitted to Neonatal Care
Fig.44 - Re-admitted to Neonatal Care Button
A pop up message will appear stating:
A new neonatal care record will be created, linking to this one to signify the child has been re-admitted to neonatal care, thus allowing the use of tier one leave again. Once the new record is created, you will not be able to make any adjustments to the original Neonatal Record, with exception to unpaid booked leave weeks. Any Neonatal Leave Weeks booked via the original Neonatal Record will remain booked, regardless of being paid or not. Any unused accrual will be transferred to this new Neonatal Record.
- Select OK to proceed, and this will create a second Neonatal Record, linking to the original
- Enter a Date Admitted into Neonatal Care using the date the child was re-admitted and select Next:
Fig.45 - Create a New Neonatal Record Via Re-admission
- This will complete the creation of the new Neonatal Record, so select Apply
Fig.46 - Created Neonatal Record via Re-admission
From here, Neonatal Leave will continue to accrue up to a maximum of 12 weeks, until a discharged date is entered. Booking Leave is the same process described earlier in the article.
The previous Neonatal Record will lockdown and cannot be amended, except for any leave weeks booked under that record. The leave weeks booked under the original record can only be amended via that record, and not the new one.
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