Since April 2025, parents of babies admitted to neonatal care are entitled to up to 12 weeks of additional paid leave. This guide explains who qualifies and how to claim it.
When a baby is born prematurely or seriously ill and needs neonatal care, parents face an incredibly difficult time — often spending weeks by their baby's side in hospital rather than at home. A new statutory right to neonatal care leave and pay came into force in April 2025 to support these families.
Neonatal Care Leave is a new right for parents whose babies require neonatal care. It provides up to 12 weeks of additional leave (on top of maternity, paternity, or other parental leave entitlements) for every week the baby spends in neonatal care — up to the maximum of 12 weeks.
The right is created by the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, which came into force in April 2025.
The baby must:
The leave is available to:
There is no minimum service period — this is a day one right.
You are entitled to 1 week of neonatal care leave for each week your baby is in neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
This leave is taken after other parental leave (maternity, paternity, shared parental leave) ends. So if a mother's maternity leave is 52 weeks, she can take neonatal care leave on top of that.
Parents who have 26 weeks' continuous service and meet the lower earnings limit are entitled to Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP) during neonatal care leave.
SNCP rate (2025/26): £184.03 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower) — the same as other statutory parental pay rates.
The notification rules are designed to be flexible, recognising that neonatal admissions are unpredictable:
During neonatal care leave:
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