In addition, employees with at least 26 weeks’ service ending with the 14th week before the expected week of childbirth will be entitled to receive statutory Neonatal Care Pay (NCP). NCP is also payable in adoption and surrogacy cases.
The Act
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 provides a statutory entitlement of paid neonatal care leave (NCL) in addition to existing leave entitlements such as maternity and paternity leave.
Neonatal care has been given a specific definition, including medical care received in hospital and as an outpatient, as well as palliative care.
An employee is entitled to one week of NCL for each qualifying week their child spends receiving neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
It will apply to parents of babies who are receiving neonatal care within the first 28 days of their birth, and who receive continuous care for at least seven full days.
The NCL must be taken in blocks of one week and must be taken in the first 68 weeks of the baby’s birth. An employee taking another form of statutory family leave, such as maternity leave, may add a period of NCL onto the end of that leave (provided always that the NCL is taken within 68 weeks of the baby’s birth). This is because maternity leave and other statutory family leave would be lost if it was stopped to take NCL.
As with other statutory leave entitlements, employees cannot be penalised for taking this leave once it is brought into force. Dismissal of an employee for a reason connected with neonatal care leave will be automatically unfair.
In terms of pay, employees with at least 26 weeks’ service with their employer will be entitled to receive up to 12 weeks of NCP at the rate set by the Government each year (currently £187.18), provided they have earnings of at least £125 per week.
Practical Considerations
- Policy and training – Have a clear policy on Neonatal Care Leave and Pay. It is important to train staff/managers prior to its introduction
- Enhancements – Consider whether you want to enhance the basic statutory entitlements (i.e. pay over and above the statutory neonatal pay or allow employees to take more leave), particularly if you do this for other parental entitlements
- Data privacy and confidentiality – Details of the baby’s medical condition(s) will be private under data protection legislation. Discuss the employee’s wishes regarding sharing information with colleagues about the reason for absence and the type of leave being taken
If you have queries or questions in relation to the upcoming introduction of the Neonatal Care Act, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the AfterAthena team (part of the Napthens Group) who are able to offer 30 minutes of free advice to QCS members.
Contact AfterAthena
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