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An employee may be eligible for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and Leave if they or their partner have a baby that needs neonatal care.

‘Neonatal care’ is the name given to care for newborn babies which starts in the first 28 days after birth. This may be for:

• hospital care
• medical care after leaving hospital
• palliative or end of life care

The baby must:

• enter neonatal care within 28 days of birth
• spend at least 7 consecutive days in neonatal care

Parents must be employed in England, Scotland or Wales. 

The baby must be born on or after 6 April 2025.

Neonatal Care Leave

An employee can take up to a maximum of 12 weeks’ Neonatal Care Leave from the first day of their employment.

They can take one week of leave for every 7 consecutive full days the baby spends in neonatal care. 

Employees must take all leave within 68 weeks of the baby’s date of birth.

They can take the leave:

• while the baby is in neonatal care, or in the first week after (this is sometimes called ‘tier 1’)
• more than a week after the baby has left neonatal care (this is sometimes called ‘tier 2’)

How leave is taken

If the baby is in neonatal care, or in the first week after, employees can take it in blocks of at least one week at a time. They do not have to take these all at the same time.

If it has been more than a week since the baby left neonatal care, employees must take any leave they’re entitled to in one single continuous block.

They must give you the correct notice for their leave.

Taking Neonatal Care Leave with other types of statutory leave

Employees must take Neonatal Care Leave after any Statutory Maternity or Adoption Leave.

If the baby is in neonatal care, or in the first week after, Neonatal Care Leave can be interrupted by other types of pre-booked parental leave (such as Paternity or Shared Parental Leave). The remaining period of Neonatal Care Leave can be tagged immediately onto the end of the other parental leave.

If leave is being taken later than the first week after the baby leaves neonatal care, it can only be taken in a single block, before or after any other existing parental leave entitlement.

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay for an eligible employee is either £187.18 a week or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. 

Tax and National Insurance need to be deducted.

Extra leave or pay

You can offer more than the statutory amounts if you have a company scheme for Neonatal Care Leave and Pay. You must make sure your scheme’s policies are clear and available to staff.

Employment rights

An employee’s rights (like the right to pay rises, holidays and returning to a job) are protected during Neonatal Care Leave.

If you make an employee redundant, you must pay any outstanding neonatal care pay. 

You must pay Statutory Neonatal Care Pay even if you stop trading.

An employee must qualify for Neonatal Care Leave and Statutory Neonatal Care Pay both as a parent with caring responsibility for the baby, and as an employee.

In England, Scotland and Wales, they can get up to 12 weeks’ pay and leave if their baby:

• was born on or after 6 April 2025
• spends 7 days or more in neonatal care in a row

To get both leave and pay, the employee must be classed as an employee - this means they have an employment contract.

An employee may be eligible if they are taking leave and pay to care for the baby and they are also either: 

• the baby’s parent (biological, adoptive or of a child born to a surrogate) and have caring responsibility for the baby
• the partner of the baby’s mother, with shared caring responsibilities

If the employee or their partner is an adoptive parent

An employee may be eligible for leave and pay if they are taking the leave to care for the child and either of the following apply:

• the child has been placed with them for adoption (or they’ve been approved for adoption)
• they are the partner of the adopter and have shared caring responsibilities

An employee may be eligible if they or their partner are adopting a baby from overseas and:

• they will have caring responsibility for the baby
• the baby has been placed with them
• they have the ‘official notification’ confirming they’re allowed to adopt

If the employee had the child with the help of a surrogate

An employee is eligible if they both:

• have responsibility for the upbringing of the child
• apply for a parental order within 6 months of the child’s birth 

Neonatal Care Leave

Employees are eligible from the first day of their employment.

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay

The employee must have been employed for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the ‘qualifying week’.

If your employee is already entitled to Maternity or Paternity Pay, this is the 15th week before the baby is due. If they’re already entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay, it’s the week the employee was told they’d been matched with the baby for adoption.

Otherwise, the qualifying week is the week immediately before the baby enters neonatal care.

They must also:

• remain employed up to the week before they claim the pay entitlement
• earn on average at least £125 a week (before tax) over an 8-week period

Employees must give notice for:

• Neonatal Care Leave
• Statutory Neonatal Care Pay

If they’re eligible, they should give you notice for pay and leave at the same time.

Neonatal Care Leave

The rules for giving notice depend on whether the employee is taking the leave: 

• while the baby is in neonatal care, or in the first week after (this is sometimes called ‘tier 1’)
• more than a week after the baby has left neonatal care (this is sometimes called ‘tier 2’)

Employees should give notice for leave in writing, for example by email or letter. However, if the baby is in neonatal care (or in the first week after), they can give notice by phone, voicemail or text message instead.

If the baby is in neonatal care (or in the first week after)

Employees should give you notice that they’re taking leave as soon as possible, and ideally before the time they usually start work. 

If they need leave to continue, they should give notice again by the end of the previous week. 

You can agree to a different frequency of notice with your employee - for example if the baby is likely to remain in neonatal care for a long time.

They should also tell you when the baby leaves neonatal care as soon as possible.

If the baby left neonatal care more than a week ago

An employee who wants to take:

• one week of leave, must give 15 days’ notice
• 2 or more weeks of leave, must give at least 28 days’ notice

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay

Employees must give notice for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay in writing - for example, an email or letter.

If the baby is in neonatal care (or in the first week after)

Employees must give notice for pay within 28 days of the start of their leave.

If the baby left neonatal care more than a week ago

Employees who want to take:

• one week of Neonatal Care Pay, must give 15 days’ notice
• 2 or more weeks of pay, must give at least 28 days’ notice

What employees need to tell you

Employees should tell you:

• their name
• the baby’s date of birth and, if adopted, the date they were placed with them (or the date the baby entered Great Britain if adopted from overseas)
• the start and end date of the baby’s neonatal care
• when they want their neonatal care leave to begin
• how many weeks of leave they are taking

In the case of multiple births, they should provide this information for each child.

They must also confirm that they:

• are taking the leave and pay to care for the child
• have parental responsibility for the child, if this is the first time they are giving notice for Neonatal Care Pay and Leave

Cancelling leave and pay

Cancelling Neonatal Care Leave 

Employees cannot cancel notice for leave if the baby is in neonatal care (or in the first week after).

If it’s more than a week since the baby left neonatal care, an employee can cancel leave by giving written notice:

• for one week of leave - at least 15 days before the leave was due to start  
• for 2 or more weeks of leave - at least 28 days before the leave was due to start

Cancelling Statutory Neonatal Care Pay 

Employees cannot cancel notice for pay if the baby is in neonatal care (or in the first week after).

If it’s more than a week since the baby left neonatal care, an employee can cancel pay by giving written notice:

• for one week of pay - at least 15 days before the pay period was due to start  
• for 2 or more weeks of pay - at least 28 days before the pay period was due to start

Telling an employee they’re not eligible

If you think an employee is not eligible for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, you must tell them within 28 days of getting notice for pay.

You can do this by writing to the employee or using form NEO1 from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).Ìý

You need to include the:

• employee’s name, address and National Insurance number 
• start date for the claim period they were not eligible for, and the end date (if there is one) 
• reason the employee was not eligible (for example, their baby did not spend at least 7 days in a row in neonatal care) 
• details of the person responsible for dealing with their claim

If the employee disagrees with your decision

Your employee should first contact you to discuss the decision.

If they still disagree, they can contact the Statutory Payments Dispute Team. They must do this within 6 months of the date of the decision.

You must keep records of Statutory Neonatal Care Pay for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), including:

• the start date for any period it was paid
• the payments you’ve made and the dates they were paid
• details of any weeks the employee claimed Statutory Neonatal Care Pay but you did not pay and the reason why

You’ll also need to keep records of:

• the employee’s written declaration, stating their caring responsibilities for the baby and their relationship with them
• the name of the baby
• the date they began neonatal care
• the date they left neonatal care (this can be provided later if the baby was still in neonatal care at the time of completing the declaration)

You must keep records for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to. You can use HMRC’s record-keeping form (NEO2) or your own.

For financial help with statutory pay, you can: 

• reclaim payments
• apply for an advance if you cannot afford payments 

Apply for an advance if you cannot afford payments

You can apply online for an advance to pay for an employee’s Statutory Neonatal Care Pay. Contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if you’ve got questions about advance payments. 

Before you start, you’ll need:

• your employer PAYE reference 
• your payment or account office reference numbers - this is on the letter you received when you first registered as an employer
• the amount of tax or National Insurance you owe to HMRC
• bank or building society details for you or the third party it’s being paid to 
• a completed R38 form if the advance is being paid to a third party 
• your email address or Government Gateway ID and password 

You’ll also need information about the employee including their: 

• National Insurance number 
• average weekly earnings 
• Neonatal Care Leave and Pay arrangements

.

After you’ve applied 

If the advance is being paid to a third party and you’re sending a completed R38 form by post, send it to HMRC within 4 weeks of applying for an advance. 

Once your application has been approved, the money will be paid to the bank or building society account you provided or you’ll be sent a cheque, depending on which payment option you chose. If there are any issues with your application, HMRC will contact you. 

Paying back your advance payment 

You’ll need to pay back your advance payment through an Employer Payment Summary (EPS).