[16/03/2026] ~~

This applies to working adults with one (or more) children requiring neonatal medical care in hospital.

The entitlement for leave is from 1 to 12 complete weeks for a parent or person responsible for the upbringing of a child. This leave is in addition to, and not in lieu of, other types of family related leave such as maternity leave

Even if there is more than one new born child (i.e. from a multiple pregnancy) neonatal leave is restricted to 12 weeks in total. The leave must be used within 68 weeks of the first child’s birth.

The child must have been admitted for medical care for at least 7 days before the parent (or other responsibile person) becomes eligible for neonatal leave.

Eligibility for and Start of Neonatal Leave

Leave only applies if the baby is less than 28 weeks old and is admitted into hospital for neonatal care for at least 7 consecutive days.

The leave may be taken as separate weeks provided your child is still in hospital or within one week of his/her discharge.

In some instances, neonatal care must be taken in one continuous block of leave or forfeited.

TIP – note that if you take neonatal leave in the middle of maternity leave, that will reduce your entitlement to maternity leave. If practical, neonatal leave should be taken at the end of maternity leave.

Payment while on Leave for Neonatal Care ~~//

The ‘parent’ of the child must have been:

– employed for at least 26 weeks of continuous service to qualify for pay during leave for neonatal care and
– earn an average of £194.32 from 6 April 2026 (£187.18).

Eligible employees are entitled to whichever is the lower of:

• £194.32 per week from 6 April 2026 (£187.18 previous year 2025/26) or
• 90% of their average weekly earnings or more per week.

The above notes set out the basic requirements but the regulations are more complex due to the variations of who has or will have care of the child and other factors. Some of the complexities are noted below.

Giving Notice for Taking Leave for Neonatal Care

Notice of leave must be given in advance and give specific details.

Meaning of Neonatal Care

The Regulations define such care as:

“(a) medical care received in a hospital;

(b) medical care received in any other place that meets the following criteria—

– the child was an inpatient in hospital and the care is received upon that child leaving hospital;

– the care is under the direction of a consultant; and

– the care includes ongoing monitoring by, and visits to the child from, healthcare professionals arranged by the hospital referred to and

(c) palliative or end-of-life care.”

The definition includes any period in which the child is transported between places that had or will be providing such care e.g. a transfer between hospitals will not break a period of care.

Individuals Eligible for Leave

Eligible persons are defined as

(i) the Child’s parent,

(ii) the partner of the Child’s mother, or

(iii) an intended parent of the Child, and

(b) at the time of the Child’s birth, the person has or expects to have—

(i) if the person is the parent or intended parent of the Child, responsibility for the upbringing of the Child;

(ii) if the person is the partner of the Child’s mother, that person will have the main responsibility (apart from any responsibility of their partner) for the upbringing of the Child;

(e ) if the partner is of the Child’s overseas adopter and at the time of the Child’s entry into Great Britain, the person has or expects to have the main responsibility (apart from any responsibility of their partner) for the upbringing of the Child.”