{"id":2354,"date":"2025-04-10T07:55:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T06:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2354"},"modified":"2025-04-07T12:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T11:32:09","slug":"statutory-neonatal-care-pay-and-leave-what-small-businesses-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/04\/statutory-neonatal-care-pay-and-leave-what-small-businesses-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and Leave: What Small Businesses Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 5<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes : <\/span><\/span><h1>Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and Leave: What Small Businesses Need to Know<\/h1>\n<p>Running a small business can be tricky at the best of times, but it gets even more complicated when your team needs time off for unexpected situations. One of those tough moments is when a baby is born early or needs extra medical care right after birth. That\u2019s where the new <strong>Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and Leave<\/strong> rules come in \u2013 and they\u2019re something every small business owner should know about.<\/p>\n<p>This new law started in <strong>April 2025<\/strong>, and it\u2019s all about supporting parents whose newborns need hospital care. Let\u2019s break it down into simple terms, so you know exactly what\u2019s going on and how it might affect your business.\u00a0 <em>As with all financial issues, please check how this affects you with your professional adviser (HR \/ Accountant etc).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2355\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2355\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2355\" src=\"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/New-born-baby-ChatGPT-Image-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/New-born-baby-ChatGPT-Image-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/New-born-baby-ChatGPT-Image-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/New-born-baby-ChatGPT-Image-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/New-born-baby-ChatGPT-Image.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2355\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New born baby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>So, what is Statutory Neonatal Care Leave?<\/h2>\n<p>Statutory Neonatal Care Leave (or NCL for short) is new time off for <strong>employees whose baby needs neonatal care<\/strong> (that\u2019s hospital care soon after birth). It gives eligible parents <strong>up to 12 weeks of paid leave<\/strong>, on top of any other parental leave they\u2019re already entitled to.<\/p>\n<p>That means this leave doesn\u2019t replace maternity or paternity leave \u2013 it\u2019s extra. If someone on your team has a poorly baby in hospital, they might be entitled to extra paid time off to be with them.<\/p>\n<h2>Who can get it?<\/h2>\n<p>To qualify for <strong>Neonatal Care Leave<\/strong>, the employee must:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Be the <strong>parent<\/strong> of a baby who was admitted to hospital for care immediately after birth.<\/li>\n<li>Be employed when the leave starts.<\/li>\n<li>Take the leave within <strong>68 weeks of the baby\u2019s birth<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The baby must have spent at least <strong>7 continuous days<\/strong> in hospital from birth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t matter if the parent is full-time or part-time \u2013 they can still qualify.<\/p>\n<h3>Who counts as a parent?<\/h3>\n<p>In this case, \u201cparent\u201d could mean:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The biological mother or father<\/li>\n<li>An adoptive parent<\/li>\n<li>The partner of the child\u2019s parent<\/li>\n<li>Intended parents using a surrogate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So even if someone isn\u2019t the biological mum or dad, they might still qualify if they have a parenting role.<\/p>\n<h2>What about Neonatal Care Pay?<\/h2>\n<p>Good question! Neonatal Care Pay (NCP) is the <strong>paid part<\/strong> of the leave. It works a bit like Statutory Paternity Pay or Statutory Maternity Pay \u2013 the government sets a weekly rate, and you (as the employer) pay it to the employee. You can then usually <strong>claim it back<\/strong> from HMRC.<\/p>\n<p>To qualify for pay, the employee must:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Be eligible for Statutory Pay (usually by earning at least \u00a3125 a week before tax)<\/li>\n<li>Have worked for you for <strong>at least 26 weeks<\/strong> by the end of the 15th week before the baby is due<\/li>\n<li>Provide you with the right notice and evidence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The pay rate will be similar to other types of statutory pay. As of 2025\/26, that\u2019s <strong>\u00a3187.18 per week<\/strong> or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). <em>This figure is correct as of the 10th April 2025 but will probably change in following years.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>How long can they take off?<\/h2>\n<p>They can take <strong>up to 12 weeks of Neonatal Care Leave<\/strong>, depending on how long the baby stays in hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s say a baby spends 15 days in hospital after birth. That means the parent could take up to <strong>2 weeks<\/strong> of leave. If the baby was in care for 8 weeks, they could take <strong>8 weeks off<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a <strong>week-for-week match<\/strong> \u2013 so if the baby\u2019s in hospital for 6 weeks, that\u2019s 6 weeks of leave.<\/p>\n<p>And remember \u2013 this is <strong>on top of<\/strong> other leave. So if someone\u2019s on paternity leave and their baby needs more time in hospital, they can take neonatal leave afterwards.<\/p>\n<h2>When can they take it?<\/h2>\n<p>Employees can take the leave:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>After the neonatal care ends<\/strong> (or starts, in some cases)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Within 68 weeks<\/strong> of the baby\u2019s birth<\/li>\n<li>In &lt;strong&#8221;&gt;one block, or <strong>separate weeks<\/strong> if needed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s designed to be flexible \u2013 so parents can take it when it works for their family.<\/p>\n<h2>Do they need to give notice?<\/h2>\n<p>Yes, they do \u2013 but it\u2019s different depending on whether they\u2019re taking paid or unpaid leave.<\/p>\n<p>For <strong>unpaid Neonatal Care Leave<\/strong>, the employee just needs to tell you <strong>before they want to start<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>For <strong>Statutory Neonatal Care Pay<\/strong>, they need to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Give you <strong>at least 28 days\u2019 notice<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Provide evidence (like a hospital letter)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s best to be flexible where you can \u2013 these situations can be very stressful for families.<\/p>\n<h2>What do you need to do as a small business?<\/h2>\n<p>As the employer, you\u2019ll need to:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Understand the rules<\/strong> \u2013 so you\u2019re ready when someone needs the leave.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Update your policies<\/strong> \u2013 make sure your contracts and staff handbooks include this new right.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Process the leave and pay<\/strong> properly \u2013 just like you do for maternity or paternity leave.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Claim the money back<\/strong> from HMRC \u2013 use your payroll system to do this.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>The good news?<\/h3>\n<p>You\u2019ll usually be able to <strong>reclaim 92%<\/strong> of the Statutory Neonatal Pay through your payroll \u2013 and if you\u2019re a small employer (under \u00a345,000 in National Insurance contributions), you might get <strong>108.5%<\/strong> back.<\/p>\n<h2>What if your business is tiny?<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re running a microbusiness with just a couple of staff, this might sound overwhelming \u2013 but don\u2019t panic.<\/p>\n<p>The key is to plan ahead and know your rights and responsibilities. The rules are there to help families, but they also protect small employers by letting you claim back the costs.<\/p>\n<p>You might only deal with this once in a blue moon \u2013 but it\u2019s better to be ready.<\/p>\n<h2>Real life example<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s say Sarah works part-time at your coffee shop. Her baby is born 6 weeks early and needs 5 weeks in neonatal care. She\u2019s already planned to take 2 weeks of paternity leave, but now she wants to take <strong>an extra 5 weeks<\/strong> to be with her baby in hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah qualifies for Neonatal Care Leave and Pay because:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Her baby spent over 7 days in hospital<\/li>\n<li>She\u2019s worked for you for over 26 weeks<\/li>\n<li>She earns more than \u00a3125 a week<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You give her the time off, pay her the weekly rate, and <strong>claim the money back<\/strong> from HMRC. Everyone\u2019s covered.<\/p>\n<h2>Helpful links<\/h2>\n<p>Here are some official links that go into more detail:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/employers-neonatal-care-pay-leave\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GOV.UK: Neonatal leave and pay employer guide<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acas.org.uk\/neonatal-care-leave-and-pay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ACAS Neonatal leave guidance for employers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s not easy running a small business \u2013 especially when laws keep changing. But this new Neonatal Care Leave and Pay is about supporting families during one of the most difficult times of their lives.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, it\u2019s another thing to keep track of, but the <strong>financial support from HMRC<\/strong> and the <strong>clear rules<\/strong> should help make it manageable.<\/p>\n<p>So don\u2019t wait until someone on your team comes to you with a poorly baby. Take a bit of time now to update your policies, check your payroll system, and be ready for that possibility.<\/p>\n<p>Because when your team feels supported, they\u2019re more likely to stick around \u2013 and that\u2019s good for everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 5<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes : <\/span><\/span>Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and Leave: What Small Businesses Need to Know Running a small business can be tricky at the best of times, but it gets even more complicated when your team needs time off for unexpected situations. One of those tough moments is when a baby is born early or needs extra medical [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-advice","category-general","category-human-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}