A new statutory right for employees to take paid leave from work if their children are admitted to neonatal care will be coming into force from 6 April.
This new right to neonatal care leave and pay is being introduced in response to concerns that current statutory leave and pay entitlements do not adequately support parents whose baby is born sick or prematurely and requires neonatal care. Although parents in this situation may be able to use part of their other statutory leave and pay entitlements to be with their child, campaigners for this new right made it clear that this was causing a range of problematic impacts, with many parents saying they had been forced to return to work while their babies were still sick in hospital or required to leave work, take unpaid leave or holiday to spend time with their child. The government estimates that around 60,000 parents will be eligible for this new type of leave, of whom around 34,000 parents are likely to take it up every year.
In our latest briefing note we set out our outline answers to the key questions that employers are likely to have about neonatal care leave and pay.
