Neonatal care leave and pay

If your baby is admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth and stays for at least 7 full days in a row, you can take up to 12 weeks of neonatal care leave on top of your other family leave. The right started on 6 April 2025. The leave is a day-one right for employees, but Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP) needs 26 weeks’ service with your employer, and it is paid at £194.32 a week or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Who can take it

Neonatal care leave is for each parent of the baby, not just the mother. That includes:

• the birth parent
• the baby’s father or the birth parent’s partner
• adoptive parents, where the child is placed for adoption and then needs neonatal care
• intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement

Each eligible parent has their own entitlement, so both parents can take the leave.

What counts as neonatal care

Neonatal care is wider than a stay in a neonatal intensive care unit. It covers medical care in hospital, continued medical care at home under the supervision of a consultant after discharge, and palliative or end-of-life care. Routine postnatal care, such as a short stay on the maternity ward, does not count.

The care must start before the baby is 28 days old and last for at least 7 full days in a row.

How much leave builds up

You get one week of leave for each full week your baby spends in neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

Time in neonatal care	Neonatal care leave
7 full days (1 week)	1 week
4 weeks	4 weeks
8 weeks	8 weeks
12 weeks or more	12 weeks

Leave is taken in whole weeks. While your baby is still in care, you can usually take neonatal care leave in short blocks if you are not already on other leave. Most parents, though, are on maternity or paternity leave at the time, and the neonatal weeks are then added at the end, before they return to work. Gov.uk explains when the leave must be taken by and the notice you need to give, which is shorter while the baby is in care.

The pay

SNCP is paid at the lower of £194.32 a week or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings. To qualify you need:

• 26 weeks’ continuous service with your employer, measured up to a set point around the birth
• average weekly earnings at or above the lower earnings limit, which is £129 a week for 2026/27

The leave itself has no service requirement. A parent who started a new job shortly before the birth can still take the weeks off, even if they are unpaid.

Many public sector employers have been updating their family leave policies to include neonatal care, and some offer pay above the statutory rate. Check your employer’s policy, or ask HR, especially if you are on an NHS, council or school contract with enhanced maternity or paternity pay.

How it fits with other leave

The order is usually maternity leave or paternity leave first, then neonatal care leave. If you are planning shared parental leave, the neonatal weeks are separate and do not come out of the shared pot.

For a sudden problem, such as the baby being readmitted, time off for dependants gives you reasonable unpaid time off from day one as well.

If your baby dies while in neonatal care, the leave you have built up is not lost, and you will also be entitled to parental bereavement leave. Our guide to bereavement and compassionate leave covers that.

Protection at work

You are protected from detriment and dismissal for taking neonatal care leave. On return, you have the right to come back to the same job, or a suitable alternative where the rules on longer family leave allow it. If your employer does not follow the rules, your union rep or ACAS can help.