COMPLIANCE
Wider considerations regarding statutory neonatal care leave and pay
Shaista Ali, Senior Employment Counsel and Holly Richards, Employment Paralegal Assistant, Housing 21 , explain some of the things conscientious employers could potentially consider when staff members need to take statutory neonatal care leave (SNCL)
W e’ve covered SNCL and pay 2024 1 and May 2025 2 Professional magazines, but what about some of the other, broader considerations in this area? This article will cover the background behind the new entitlement and discuss how employers can provide the best support during what will inevitably be a tough time for their employees. (SNCP) from a payroll perspective within the pages of the October The introduction of neonatal care leave and pay is another hugely important step in a package of progressive family friendly rights set to be strengthened over the next few years, including bereavement leave and the removal of qualifying periods for paternity and parental leave. However, unlike the aforementioned family friendly rights, SNCL isn’t part of the Employment Rights Bill. The Act instead began as a Private Members’ Bill by Scottish National Party Member of Parliament, Stuart McDonald, who rightly asserts that “no parent should have to choose between being with their premature or sick baby in neonatal care and having to go back to work to earn a living.” 3 With the backing of over 30 professional bodies, charities and unions and the signatures of 357,000 parents, the Bill is a long overdue concession to struggling parents in the most distressing situations. Prior to the introduction of this legislation, when a child unfortunately required neonatal care, parents would either have had to use their existing family leave in hospital with their baby or return to work before their babies could even come home. Bliss, a UK charity which supports the families of sick
and premature babies, found that in 70% of families with a significant neonatal stay, at least one parent had to return to work while their child was still in hospital. With one in seven babies annually requiring neonatal care, the Act couldn’t come soon enough, to help the thousands of families unable to afford to be with their child. Caroline Lee- Davey, Chief Executive of Bliss, emphasises that “for many families, the inflexibility of the current parental leave system exacerbates the trauma that parents experience when their baby is admitted to neonatal care. This law has the potential to transform the experience of both parents and employers.” 4 The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, which came into force on 6 April 2025, gives parents the right to take this type of dedicated leave without using up their other family leave entitlements, such as maternity, adoption, paternity or shared parental leave. SNCL will be a day one right for all employees, so long as the employee has a qualifying relationship to the child, such as the child’s parent, intended parent / adopter or the partner of the child’s neonatal stay, at least one parent had to return to work while their child was still in hospital” “In 70% of families with a significant
mother. It won’t be available for other family relationships such as grandparents or siblings. The right is only available for babies born on or after 6 April 2025 and for periods of neonatal care which last seven or more continuous days (counted from the day after the care started) that begins within 28 days of their birth. Neonatal care has a broad remit, it also includes babies who are discharged from hospital but still receiving medical care under the direction of a consultant, as well as palliative and end of life care. For every week a child receives uninterrupted neonatal care, their parents are entitled to a week’s SNCL, with a maximum of 12 weeks leave available. This leave must be taken with 68 weeks of the child’s birth or date of placement (in adoption cases) and is divided into two options for parents, tiers 1 and 2. Tier 1 should be taken at the time the baby is still receiving care and the seven days after care ends and can be taken in continuous or non-continuous blocks. This period of leave will be particularly helpful to fathers or partners of the mother, who may be eligible for paternity leave, as the statutory entitlement is only two weeks. Tier 2 can be taken any time after the tier 1 leave has ended and it’s envisaged this will be used by mothers or the primary adopter, who can add this leave onto periods of maternity or adoption leave. Unlike tier 1 leave, it must be taken in one continuous block. As with most types of family or parental leave, employees are required to give their employers notice. But in the spirit of the legislation, employers should consider flexibility in waiving or accepting shorter
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward
| June 2025 | Issue 111
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