Neonatal care leave in the UK: 12 weeks and £187.18 a week

The baby arrives early, or falls ill in the first days, and instead of going home you are standing next to an incubator. While one parent stays on the ward, the other is usually counting what is left of their annual leave. Since 2025 England, Scotland and Wales have a separate right for exactly this situation: Neonatal Care Leave — up to 12 weeks on top of maternity, paternity and holiday entitlement.

Which care counts as neonatal care?

Care that starts in the first 28 days after birth. That is the hard edge of the rule: a baby admitted to hospital in the second month of life falls outside the procedure altogether.

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The second condition is length. Leave is earned in blocks: one week of leave for every 7 full and continuous days the baby spends in neonatal care, capped at 12 weeks.

For twins and triplets there is one rule. Babies in neonatal care at the same time give you a single claim of up to 12 weeks in total. Babies in care at separate times give you more than one claim — but the combined maximum is still 12 weeks.

Who can take the leave?

Any employee, from day one. There is no minimum length of service at all. You need to be classed as an employee, to be employed in England, Scotland or Wales, and to give your employer notice.

The right belongs to the baby's parent, and to the partner of the baby's mother who has caring responsibility for the child. Adoptive parents and intended parents through surrogacy are included on the conditions GOV.UK sets out.

One detail matters for mothers: if you are already on maternity or adoption leave, the neonatal weeks are added at the end of that entitlement rather than taken inside it.

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How much is the pay, and who gets it?

£187.18 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. This is Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, and the test for the money is stricter than the test for the time off.

To qualify you must have been continuously employed by that employer for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the qualifying week, and you must earn on average £129 a week or more before tax over an 8-week period.

So a perfectly ordinary outcome is this: you get the leave from your first day, and no pay with it, because you have been in the job three months. That is not your employer being difficult — it is how the two tests are written.

What are tier 1 and tier 2?

They are two notice regimes, and mixing them up is the most common way a claim goes wrong.

Tier 1 covers the time while the baby is in neonatal care, plus the week after they leave. In this window you can take the leave in separate blocks, each at least one week long. You are allowed to tell your employer on the day the leave starts, and you can do it by phone, voicemail or text. Notice for the pay can come later — up to 28 days after the leave starts — but that one must be in writing, an email or a letter.

Tier 2 covers anything more than a week after the baby has left neonatal care. Here the leave must be one continuous block, and notice must be given in advance and in writing: at least 15 days for one week, at least 28 days for two weeks or more.

What do you have to tell your employer?

The list is short and formal: your full name; your baby's date of birth, or for adoption the date they were placed with you, or the date they entered Great Britain if adopted from overseas; the start and end dates of the neonatal care; when you want the leave to begin; and how many weeks you want.

Separately you confirm that you will be caring for the baby during the period claimed, and that you are the baby's parent or the mother's partner with caring responsibilities. That confirmation is needed only the first time you claim.

You can do all of this on the NEO3 declaration form, by email or letter, or on your employer's own form.

How long does the right last?

68 weeks from the baby's date of birth — just under 16 months. This is the deadline people lose most often: in the first months nobody is thinking about paperwork, and by the time they are, the window has closed.

If your employer refuses the pay and you cannot settle it between you, the dispute goes to the Statutory Payments Dispute Team, and you have six months from the decision to contact them.

The whole rule in one line

Care must start within 28 days of birth; one week of leave per 7 full days on the ward; 12 weeks maximum; £187.18 or 90% of earnings; leave from day one, pay after 26 weeks and £129 a week; and 68 weeks to use it.