ACAS Publishes New Guidance on Neonatal Care Leave (7 April 2025)
ACAS has published new guidance on the rights to neonatal care leave and pay, which came into effect on Sunday, 6 April 2024.
The new rights to neonatal care leave and pay are to support for parents with a baby in neonatal care,
The Guide is divided into 6 parts covering
- What the Law Says: An overview of the legal framework for neonatal care leave.
- Checking Eligibility for Leave: Criteria for determining who qualifies for this leave.
- Telling an Employer: How and when employees should notify their employer about their need for leave.
- Managing Leave: Best practices for employers to support their staff during neonatal care leave.
- Pay: Details of entitlement to neonatal care pay.
- Rights During and After Leave: Protections for employees while on leave and when they return to work.
Some Key Points:
Duration of Leave: Neonatal care leave can range from a minimum of 1 week to a maximum of 12 weeks, depending on how long the baby requires neonatal care.
Eligibility: To qualify, the baby must have been in neonatal care for at least 7 consecutive days.
Combining with Other Leave: Neonatal care leave can be added to the end of any pre-booked statutory parental leave, giving parents additional flexibility.
Notice Requirements depend on whether the leave is classified as Tier 1 or Tier 2 Leave:
- Tier 1 Leave: Covers the period when the child is still in neonatal care and includes 1 week after neonatal care ends.
- Tier 2 Leave: Applies to the period beyond Tier 1 and before the end of 68 weeks from the child’s birth.
Retrospective Entitlement: Eligibility is only formalized once the child has been hospitalized for 7 days of neonatal care.
What Should Employers Do?
These provisions can be intricate and GB employers should ensure they understand the provisions. We have also have a Neonatal Care and Leave Policy and can provide this to any Member on request by emailing info@eefni.org
The ACAS Guidance can be accessed here
