Neonatal care leave
Neonatal care leave gives parents the opportunity to extend their parental leave by one week for every full week that their baby is receiving neonatal care if:
- Their baby is admitted for neonatal care within 28 days of birth
- The treatment is for a continuous period of seven days or more
Neonatal care leave is designed to give you extra time during a difficult and emotional period.
You can take this leave in addition to maternity, adoption, paternity, or shared parental leave.
Am I eligible?
You will qualify for neonatal care leave if:
- you are legally classed as an employee
- you have shared or sole responsibility for the child
- your baby needs hospital care within the first 28 days of birth
- you take the leave within 68 weeks of your baby’s birth
Unpaid neonatal care leave is a “day one right” which means it applies no matter how long you have worked at the Trust.
Helpful to know: Each eligible parent will be entitled to a separate amount of leave. This includes parents who work for the same employer.
Neonatal care pay
To get paid neonatal care leave (Statutory Neonatal Care Pay), you must:
- have 26 weeks’ continuous service with the Trust by the end of the 15th week before the baby’s due date or have 26 weeks’ continuous service with the Trust by the end of the week in which you are notified of having been matched with a child for adoption
- earn at least the lower earnings limit set by HMRC
If you meet the eligibility criteria for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP), you will be paid at the same rate as Statutory Maternity / Adoption / Paternity Pay. More information can be found:
If you’re unsure whether you qualify, please contact the People Advisory Service.
How much leave can I take?
The maximum amount of leave that can be accrued is 12 weeks.
You’ll get one week of leave for every week your baby is in neonatal care, as long as it’s at least seven consecutive days.
Example: If your baby spends three weeks and five days in hospital care, you will accrue three weeks of Neonatal Care Leave.
The leave must be taken within 68 weeks of your baby’s birth. The leave is treated differently depending on whether you take it whilst your baby is in hospital (referred to here as Tier 1), or later in those 68 weeks once your baby is not longer receiving medical care (referred to here as Tier 2).
Important to Know: Parents are not eligible for neonatal care leave until their baby has been receiving care for 7 days or more. Each week of leave is taken in arrears. If you are not already on leave, you may take another form of leave for the first 7 days e.g. annual leave, special leave.
Example: Sam has booked two weeks of paternity leave at the end of May. Sam's baby was born early and taken into neonatal care on 14 April. The baby is in care until 2 May. Sam cannot take neonatal care leave until 22 April. Sam may request to take annual leave for the first seven days whilst the baby is in hospital.