Key takeaways
New guidance supports working parents
Eligible employees can access up to 12 weeks’ leave.
Employers must follow record-keeping rules
Statutory pay records must be kept for three years.
Flexibility and empathy are encouraged
Support for mental health and communication is key.
From 6 April 2025, subject to meeting eligibility criteria, qualifying parents of babies who are admitted to neonatal care for at least one week within the 28 days following their birth, are entitled to up to 12 weeks of neonatal care leave and pay (our summary of these new rights here).
New government guidance
The Government has recently published an employer guide to statutory neonatal care pay and leave. In summary, this guidance:
Provides employers with a detailed overview of the new rights to neonatal care leave and pay;
Reminds employers that they must keep written records of specified information in connection with the payment of statutory neonatal care pay, and retain those records for three years from the end of the relevant tax year; and
Explains how employers can recover all or part of statutory neonatal care pay from HMRC.
New Acas guidance
Acas has also recently published non-statutory guidance on neonatal care leave and pay which, in summary:
Outlines the new rights to neonatal care leave and pay;
Reminds employers that ineligible employees may instead be eligible to take unpaid emergency dependant care leave, other forms of statutory leave or could be offered compassionate leave or unpaid time off;
Notes that a baby being admitted to neonatal care is a high-stress situation and recommends employers should be flexible and take steps to support the employee’s mental health; and
Recommends that it is best practice that employers should:
with the employee’s consent, allow family members or friends to notify them and provide them with updates on behalf of the employee;
agree with the employee what information they can share about the baby’s neonatal care and who this information can be shared with; and
ensure contracts/policies outline the process for requesting neonatal care leave and pay.
