A Jamie HR manager's guide
The manager's guide to neonatal care leave and pay
A practical guide for managers and small businesses on neonatal care leave and Statutory Neonatal Care Pay: who qualifies, how much leave is available, the two notice tiers, how it interacts with other family leave, and what payroll needs to do.
Up to 12 weeks' leave
Day-one right to leave
2026-27 pay rate
Neonatal care leave is a day-one right for parents whose baby needs hospital care after birth.
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of leave, on top of maternity, paternity and other family leave, when their baby is admitted to neonatal care. This guide sets out who qualifies for leave and pay, how the two notice tiers work, how it sits alongside your other family leave policies, and the practical steps for managers and payroll.
What's inside
What is neonatal care leave?3
Who qualifies for leave4
How much leave is available5
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and the current rate6
The two notice tiers7
Working alongside maternity and adoption leave8
Working alongside paternity, shared parental and bereavement leave9
Rights during leave and redundancy protection10
Practical steps for managers and payroll11
Getting neonatal care leave right12
How Jamie HR helps13
What is neonatal care leave?
Neonatal care leave has applied since 6 April 2025, for babies born on or after that date.
- The right comes from the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 and applies to babies born on or after 6 April 2025.
- Neonatal care means hospital care, medical care after discharge given under the direction of a consultant, or palliative or end of life care, in the baby's first 28 days.
- The care must begin within 28 days of the baby's birth and last for at least 7 consecutive days before leave can start.
- Neonatal care leave is a distinct entitlement, on top of maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
Who qualifies for leave
The right to take neonatal care leave is a day-one right for employees.
- Employees can take neonatal care leave from their first day of employment; no minimum length of service is required.
- Eligible parents include the birth mother, the father, a spouse, civil partner or partner of the birth parent, adopters, and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
- The employee must have, or expect to have, responsibility for the child's upbringing.
- Neonatal care leave applies to employees only, not the wider category of workers or the self-employed.
- Where both parents work for the same employer, each has their own separate entitlement.
How much leave is available
Leave is linked directly to how long the baby spends in neonatal care.
- Employees accrue one week of neonatal care leave for every 7 full, consecutive days their baby is in neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
- Leave is calculated in full weeks only; part weeks do not count towards the total.
- All neonatal care leave must be taken within 68 weeks of the baby's date of birth.
- Leave is taken either in one or more blocks while the baby is still in neonatal care or in the week immediately after care ends (Tier 1), or as a continuous block later (Tier 2).
Manager tip
Diarise the 68-week deadline from the baby's date of birth as soon as you know neonatal care leave may apply, so Tier 2 leave is not lost to the time limit.
Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and the current rate
Pay has its own eligibility conditions, separate from the right to take the leave itself.
- Statutory Neonatal Care Pay requires at least 26 weeks' continuous service by the end of the relevant qualifying week, and continued employment up to the week before each payment.
- The employee must have average weekly earnings of at least £129 (the Lower Earnings Limit for 2026 to 2027) over the relevant 8-week reference period.
- The current weekly rate for 2026 to 2027 is £194.32, or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings if that is lower.
- Pay is available to a broader group than leave: an employed earner, such as some agency workers, can qualify for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay even where they do not qualify for the leave itself.
Watch out
Confirm the Statutory Neonatal Care Pay rate and the Lower Earnings Limit with HMRC's published rates each April, as both are reviewed annually and change at the start of the tax year.
The two notice tiers
Notice requirements differ depending on when the leave is taken.
- Tier 1 covers leave taken while the baby is still in neonatal care, or in the week immediately after care ends. Notice does not need to be in writing, and can be given as late as the employee's first working day.
- Tier 2 covers leave taken later, once neonatal care has ended and more than a week has passed. Notice must be given in writing.
- For a single week of Tier 2 leave, give at least 15 days' notice before the leave starts.
- For two or more weeks of Tier 2 leave, or for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, give at least 28 days' notice before the leave or the first statutory pay week starts.
Working alongside maternity and adoption leave
Maternity and adoption leave cannot be paused and restarted, so the sequencing with neonatal care leave matters.
- An employee cannot stop and restart statutory maternity or adoption leave, so they must complete the maternity or adoption leave they intend to take before starting neonatal care leave.
- Neonatal care leave taken after maternity or adoption leave is treated as Tier 2 leave, and must still fall within 68 weeks of the baby's birth.
- For an employee already receiving Statutory Maternity or Adoption Pay, the qualifying week for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay follows the same reference week used for that maternity or adoption pay.
- Where a baby is placed for adoption, the 68-week leave window still runs from the baby's date of birth, not the date of placement.
Working alongside paternity, shared parental and bereavement leave
Other family leave can run before, after, or interrupt neonatal care leave, but not at the same time.
- An employee cannot take neonatal care leave and another type of statutory family leave at the same time.
- Pre-booked statutory paternity leave can interrupt Tier 1 neonatal care leave; the remaining neonatal care leave can then be tagged onto the end of the paternity leave.
- Shared parental leave and neonatal care leave can be sequenced around each other, so an employee may take shared parental leave, then neonatal care leave, then further shared parental leave.
- If a baby dies, parental bereavement leave gives up to 56 weeks from the date of death, separate from the 68-week window that applies to neonatal care leave; plan the sequencing of both with the employee.
Rights during leave and redundancy protection
Neonatal care leave carries the same core statutory protections as other family leave.
- An employee must not be dismissed, or subjected to any other detriment, because they have taken or intend to take neonatal care leave.
- Terms and conditions, other than pay, continue to build up during neonatal care leave, in the same way as during other family leave.
- An employee returning from neonatal care leave, combined with any other family leave totalling 26 weeks or less, is entitled to return to the same job.
- An employee who takes 6 or more continuous weeks of neonatal care leave qualifies for enhanced redundancy protection, giving them priority for a suitable alternative vacancy, for 18 months from the baby's date of birth.
Watch out
Redundancy selection cannot be influenced by an employee having taken, or being entitled to take, neonatal care leave. Take advice before including anyone on or recently returned from neonatal care leave in a redundancy process.
Practical steps for managers and payroll
A few practical steps keep leave and pay running smoothly alongside everything else happening for the family.
- Ask for written confirmation of the baby's date of birth and the dates of neonatal care, to establish the leave entitlement and the 68-week window.
- Record whether notice falls under Tier 1 or Tier 2, and check the notice given meets the 15-day or 28-day requirement for Tier 2 leave or pay.
- Set up payroll to calculate Statutory Neonatal Care Pay against the current weekly rate and the Lower Earnings Limit, and to recover it in the same way as other statutory family payments.
- Coordinate with any maternity, adoption, paternity or shared parental leave the employee or their partner is taking, so the sequencing and total leave dates are agreed and recorded.
- Keep the same discretion around health information for neonatal care as for any other sensitive family or medical leave.
Manager tip
Agree a single point of contact for the employee during neonatal care, so requests for leave, pay and any extensions do not have to be repeated to different people.
Getting neonatal care leave right
A summary of the essentials covered in this guide:
- Neonatal care leave is a day-one right, available from 6 April 2025 for babies born on or after that date.
- Employees accrue up to 12 weeks of leave, one week for every 7 consecutive days of neonatal care, to be used within 68 weeks of birth.
- Statutory Neonatal Care Pay needs 26 weeks' continuous service and average earnings of at least £129 a week, paid at £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower (2026 to 2027 rates).
- Use Tier 1 notice while care is ongoing, and written Tier 2 notice (15 or 28 days) for leave taken later.
- Sequence neonatal care leave around maternity, adoption, paternity and shared parental leave, since none of these can be taken at the same time as another.
- Protect employees from dismissal or detriment, and apply the enhanced 18-month redundancy protection where 6 or more continuous weeks of leave are taken.
How Jamie HR helps
Jamie HR keeps neonatal care leave dates, notice and pay calculations recorded alongside every other type of family leave.
- Leave tracking that records neonatal care dates, the 68-week window and Tier 1 or Tier 2 notice in one place.
- Statutory pay calculations kept up to date with the current weekly rate and Lower Earnings Limit each tax year.
- Family leave sequencing so maternity, paternity, shared parental and neonatal care leave are planned around each other, not in isolation.
- Secure documents for medical and family leave evidence, held separately and only visible to those who need it.
jamiehr.com
This guide is general information, accurate to the best of our knowledge as of 2026, and is not legal advice. Employment law changes and every situation is different, so for a specific case take professional HR or legal advice. Sources: gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk and ACAS.