Informal notice (during hospital stay)
While your baby is in neonatal care, you can give informal notice (e.g. a phone call or text) to start your NCL immediately. You have up to 28 days to follow up with written notice.
From 6 April 2025, parents whose baby requires neonatal care can take up to 12 extra weeks of paid leave on top of existing maternity and paternity entitlements.
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 created two new statutory rights for parents: Neonatal Care Leave (NCL) and Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP). These rights came into force on 6 April 2025 and apply to parents whose baby is admitted to neonatal care (a hospital or specialist unit) in the first 28 days of life and stays for 7 or more consecutive days.
The key point is that this leave is additional — it does not replace or reduce maternity, paternity, adoption, or shared parental leave. It sits entirely on top of these entitlements.
The qualifying conditions differ slightly between leave (which is a day-one right) and pay (which has additional requirements).
Is admitted to hospital or neonatal unit within the first 28 days of life AND stays for 7 or more consecutive days.
Your baby is admitted after their 28th day of life, or is discharged and readmitted after a gap of any length (continuity matters).
Neonatal Care Leave is a day-one right — you do not need any minimum period of service with your employer to take it. Both the mother and her partner are eligible independently.
To receive pay during neonatal care leave, you must additionally:
If you do not meet the pay qualifying conditions but do qualify for leave, you can still take the leave — it will just be unpaid.
The amount of Neonatal Care Leave you can take is linked to how long your baby spends in hospital, with a minimum of 1 week and a maximum of 12 weeks. Leave is taken in complete weeks (not individual days). The entitlement is calculated as follows:
| Baby's Days in Hospital | NCL Entitlement |
|---|---|
| 7–13 days | 1 week |
| 14–20 days | 2 weeks |
| 21–27 days | 3 weeks |
| 28–34 days | 4 weeks |
| 35–41 days | 5 weeks |
| 42–48 days | 6 weeks |
| 49–55 days | 7 weeks |
| 56–62 days | 8 weeks |
| 63–69 days | 9 weeks |
| 70–76 days | 10 weeks |
| 77–83 days | 11 weeks |
| 84+ days (max) | 12 weeks |
Neonatal Care Leave can be taken in two phases:
While your baby is in neonatal care, you can give informal notice (e.g. a phone call or text) to start your NCL immediately. You have up to 28 days to follow up with written notice.
For leave taken after your baby comes home, you must give your employer at least 5 days' written notice before the leave starts.
Your employer can ask you to provide evidence of the baby's admission (e.g. a hospital letter). They cannot request this as a condition before granting leave — they can only ask for it within 28 days.
Neonatal Care Leave does not interrupt maternity leave. A mother continues to receive Statutory Maternity Pay while she is in her maternity leave period, even if she is also entitled to Neonatal Care Leave. The NCL starts after the Statutory Maternity Pay period ends (or at any point she chooses, in accordance with the rules).
The partner can take their 2 weeks of Statutory Paternity Leave as normal. Their entitlement to Neonatal Care Leave is entirely separate and can be taken on top of paternity leave. This means a partner could take 2 weeks of paternity leave at birth, and then up to 12 weeks of NCL if the baby meets the qualifying conditions.
If parents are taking Shared Parental Leave, NCL can be taken in addition to this. However, NCL must be completed before the 68-week deadline from the baby's birth. Careful planning is important to ensure both entitlements are used effectively.