Neonatal care leave and pay when HR software runs the claim (UK)

Neonatal care leave is one of the newest UK family rights, and one that many HR and payroll systems were not built for. It does not follow a birth date in a fixed way: it builds up week by week while a baby is in hospital, and the notice rules change depending on when the leave is taken. This page sets out the rules in Great Britain and where software most often gets them wrong. It is for parents and for employers. Northern Ireland has separate legislation.

The short answer: since 6 April 2025, an employee whose baby receives neonatal care for at least 7 days in a row, starting within 28 days of birth, can take one week of neonatal care leave for each full week of that care, up to 12 weeks. The leave is a day one right. Statutory neonatal care pay, the lower of £194.32 a week and 90% of average weekly earnings, needs 26 weeks' service and earnings at or above the lower earnings limit.

Who can take the leave

The Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025 came into force on 6 April 2025 (SI 2025/375, reg 1). An employee can take the leave if, at the birth, they are the child's parent or intended parent with responsibility for the child's upbringing, or the partner of the mother with the main responsibility apart from the mother. Adopters and their partners are also covered, and in every case the employee must be taking the leave to care for the child and give notice (reg 5). There is no minimum length of service for the leave, so a tool that applies a service test to it is wrong.

Neonatal care means care of a prescribed medical or palliative kind that starts before the end of 28 days beginning with the day after the birth (SSCBA 1992 s171ZZ16(4)).

How much leave builds up

The employee gets one week of leave for each qualifying period, meaning each week in which the child receives neonatal care without interruption, counted from the day after the care starts (reg 3). The maximum is 12 weeks, and it must be taken before the end of 68 weeks beginning with the birth (reg 7). A system that only knows the birth date cannot calculate this: it needs the dates care started and ended, and any later admissions.

Two periods, two sets of rules

• Tier 1: while the child is in neonatal care and for 7 days after it ends. Leave in this period can be taken in non-consecutive weeks, but not before the day after the first qualifying week (reg 8).
• Tier 2: the rest of the 68 weeks. Any leave not taken in tier 1 can be taken here, but in one continuous block (reg 8(2)).

The notice an employee gives must include the child's date of birth, the date neonatal care started and, if it has, ended, when the leave is to begin and how many weeks are being taken (reg 10). Systems that ask for a fixed form with only a due date and start date will not capture what the law requires.

Statutory neonatal care pay

Pay has its own tests. The employee needs at least 26 weeks' continuous employment with the employer ending with the relevant week, and normal weekly earnings over 8 weeks at or above the lower earnings limit (s171ZZ16(2)). One week of pay accrues for every 7 days of uninterrupted neonatal care, up to 12 weeks (SI 2025/376, reg 7). The Act requires the qualifying period to be at least 68 weeks from the birth (s171ZZ19). The weekly rate is the lower of £194.32 and 90% of normal weekly earnings (reg 25), the cash figure set from April 2026 by the up-rating order (SI 2026/148, art 10(4)).

Notice for pay depends on the tier. For pay weeks starting in tier 1, notice can be given up to 28 days after the first day of the first week. In tier 2, it must be given at least 15 days before a single week, or 28 days before two or more consecutive weeks, unless that is not reasonably practicable (reg 11). A payroll tool that rejects a late tier 1 claim as out of time is applying the wrong rule.

Practical steps

• Employers: make sure the HR system records neonatal care start and end dates, counts leave week by week, applies no service test to leave, keeps tier 1 notice flexible and checks the pay rate is £194.32. Have a named person who can deal with these cases by hand.
• Parents: keep a note of the dates the baby was admitted and discharged. If a portal refuses a request, ask which rule it applied. See also maternity and paternity pay, shared parental leave and pay, parental bereavement leave and pay and statutory sick pay.

This page is general information on the law in Great Britain as at 31 October 2026, not legal advice.