The UK Department for Business and Trade published a press release on January 20, 2025 confirming that the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, passed by Parliament in 2023, will go into effect in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2025.
We set out below details of the new leave entitlement provided for by the Neonatal Care Act and what employers should be doing following this announcement. In addition, we provide a summary of existing family-friendly leave entitlements for UK-based employees, including discussion of some of the proposed changes tabled by the UK government’s Employment Rights Bill (ERB).
The Neonatal Care Act will give parents the right to take up to 12 weeks’ leave when their baby requires “neonatal care” in addition to existing parental leave entitlements such as maternity or paternity leave.
The entitlement will be a “day one” right, meaning employees are entitled to the leave from the first day of their employment with a new employer. Neonatal care is defined as care for newborns who are admitted to a hospital for at least seven full days of medical/palliative treatment within the first 28 days of their birth.
In addition to the statutory neonatal care leave entitlements, statutory Neonatal Care Pay will be available to employees who meet the relevant continuity of service requirements and a minimum earnings threshold.
It is expected that this new day one right could benefit up to 60,000 new parents in the UK annually.
Employers should ensure that they are familiar with this new entitlement for their employees and ensure all internal policies are updated to reflect this new entitlement. Employers may also wish to think about communicating the policy changes to their workforce.
Should you require any further information on the Neonatal Care Act and the potential impact on your business, please get in touch with your usual Morgan Lewis contact.
Set out below is a reminder of other statutory family-friendly leave entitlements that UK employees may benefit from. This is in addition to employees who are also eligible for statutory pay related to the relevant leaves outlined below, details of which are not covered in this LawFlash.
It is important to note that while the sections outlined below cover the statutory minimum entitlements to leave, employers are permitted to offer additional leave entitlements over and above these minimum requirements. Indeed, it may be prudent for employers to consider offering leave entitlements over and above the statutory minimum to foster a stronger workplace culture among their employees through increased employee satisfaction, allow them to attract and maintain top talent, and ensure the health and well-being of their workforce is prioritized.
Statutory Maternity Leave
Statutory maternity leave is a day one right for employees. All pregnant employees are entitled to take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, consisting of 26 weeks of “Ordinary Maternity Leave” and 26 weeks of “Additional Maternity Leave.” The earliest the leave may be taken is 11 weeks prior to the “expected week of childbirth,” unless the baby is born early.
While an employee does not have to make use of the full 52-week entitlement, it is generally compulsory for employees to take at least two weeks’ maternity leave from the date of childbirth. An employer will be guilty of a criminal offense if it allows an employee to work during this period.
Statutory Paternity Leave
Statutory paternity leave can be taken by employees where their partner is giving birth, the employee is having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement, or the employee is adopting a child.
In all cases, as of April 6, 2024 qualifying employees may take up to two weeks of statutory paternity leave, taken either as a single period of leave or as two separate weeks of leave.
Notably, the ERB includes a proposal to remove the qualifying period of employment for paternity leave, thereby making it a day one right.
Statutory Adoption Leave
Statutory Adoption Leave is available for all employees regardless of marital/partner status, subject to eligibility requirements.
For couples, the entitlement to statutory adoption leave is only available to one partner, who will be designated as the “adopter,” or “Parent A” in surrogacy arrangements. The adopter/Parent A is entitled to statutory leave of up to 52 weeks, with the first 26 weeks’ leave considered “ordinary adoption leave” and the subsequent 26 weeks’ leave considered “additional adoption leave.”
Statutory Shared Parental Leave
Statutory Shared Parental Leave gives eligible employees who are in a couple the right to take up to 50 weeks of shared leave provided that this is taken in the first year following their child’s birth or the placement of a child with them for adoption.
The aim of the entitlement is to essentially act as a mechanism through which employees who benefit from maternity or adoption leave, but return to work early (i.e., by not taking their full 52-week entitlement), are able to transfer the remaining portion of their leave to their partner who is able to take then take this leave as Shared Parental Leave.
Statutory Parental Leave
Statutory Parental Leave is a statutory right to unpaid leave for employees who have, or expect to have, a responsibility for raising a child. It is an additional leave entitlement to maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental leave and provides the right for employees to take up to 18 weeks’ unpaid leave to care for their child up until that child’s 18th birthday. An employee is entitled to the leave in respect of each of their children provided that they meet the eligibility criteria, namely that the employee has been continuously employed by their employer for at least a year and they have, or expect to have, a responsibility for caring for that child.
Statutory Bereavement Leave
Parents of a child who passes away prior to their 18th birthday, or who have a stillbirth following 24 weeks of pregnancy, are entitled to leave. This is a day one right and provides for two weeks’ unpaid leave, which can be taken consecutively or as separate weeks.
The ERB has proposed reforming the Statutory Bereavement Leave regime by removing the “parental” aspect and thereby extending the right to bereavement leave so that an employee is entitled to bereavement leave for loss of other loved ones (although we are awaiting detail on what relationship to the deceased the employee would need). However, should this proposed extension of bereavement leave come into law, it would remain unpaid.
Statutory Carer’s Leave
The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 has been in force since April 6, 2024 and entitles employees to give or arrange for care for a “dependant” who has (1) a physical or mental illness or injury that likely requires care for more than three months, (2) a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010, and/or (3) care needs due to old age. There is no requirement for the “dependant” to be a family member, but it must be somebody who relies on the particular employee in question for their care.
The Carer’s Leave Act entitles employees to take up to one week of leave every 12 months, to be taken either as a whole week off or as individual or half days throughout the year.
Morgan Lewis lawyers stand ready to assist employers in keeping abreast of these important developments and the applicable implementation timelines to appropriately plan for the impacts such changes could have on their workforce.
If you have any questions or would like more information on the issues discussed in this LawFlash, please contact any of the following: