Neonatal Care Pay and Leave
How to claim
You claim Neonatal Care Pay and Leave through your employer. You must take it within 68 weeks (just under 16 months) of your baby’s birth date, including if your baby is adopted.
You must give your employer notice before you take Neonatal Care Pay and Leave. If you’re eligible for both, you should ideally do this at the same time.
How much notice you must give depends on when you’re taking the leave and pay.
If you’re taking leave and pay while your baby is in neonatal care (or in the first week after)
This is sometimes called ‘tier 1’ leave.
You need to tell your employer on the day you want your leave to start, ideally before the time you usually start work or as soon as you can afterwards. You can give notice to your employer for pay up to 28 days after your leave starts.
If you need to continue leave and pay for another week, you’ll need to let your employer know again. You should do this by the end of the previous week.
If your baby is likely to be in neonatal care for a long time, your employer may agree that you can contact them less frequently.
You need to tell your employer the date your baby leaves neonatal care as soon as possible.
If you’re taking leave and pay more than a week after your baby has left neonatal care
This is sometimes called ‘tier 2’ leave.
If you’re taking one week of leave and pay, you’ll need to tell your employer 15 days before you want your leave and pay to start. If you’re taking 2 or more weeks’ leave and pay, you’ll need to tell them 28 days in advance.
To claim neonatal care leave, you must write to your employer telling them:
- your full name
- your baby’s date of birth and, if adopted, the date they were placed with you (or the date they entered into Great Britain if adopted from overseas)
- the start and end date of your baby’s neonatal care
- when you want your Neonatal Care Leave to begin
- how many weeks’ leave you want to take
For pay and leave, you’ll also need to confirm:
- you’ll care for the baby during the period you’re claiming for
- you’re the baby’s parent or mother’s partner with caring responsibilities for the baby - you’ll only need to give this information the first time you write to your employer
If you have more than one baby in neonatal care
You’ll need to provide your employer with information for each baby.
If you disagree with a decision on Neonatal Care Pay
Contact your employer if you disagree with a decision on your claim for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, for example because you think they:
- are paying you the wrong amount
- have wrongly decided not to pay you statutory pay
If you cannot reach an agreement, you can contact the Statutory Payments Dispute Team. You must do this within 6 months of the date of the decision.