With the upcoming Employment Rights Bill 2024/2025 and new guidance from ACAS on neonatal care leave and pay, employers need to start preparing for some significant changes in family-related employment rights.
At Craven, we’ve reviewed the latest updates to help businesses understand their obligations and support their employees at one of the most difficult times in family life.
Neonatal care leave is designed to help parents whose babies require specialist medical care after birth. This includes care in a hospital or under the supervision of a healthcare consultant, often in highly stressful circumstances.
Under the new legislation:
Employees will have the right to up to 12 weeks of neonatal care leave, taken in weekly blocks.
This right applies if the baby is admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth and stays for at least 7 continuous days.
Both parents may be eligible, regardless of length of service.
The right to neonatal care leave came into effect from April 2025. The ACAS guidance, published in April 2025, gives employers and HR teams time to get their policies, handbooks, and communication processes in place.
✅ Update policies
Employers should review and update existing family leave policies. You can refer to our ready-to-use Neonatal Care Leave and Pay Policy that covers:
Eligibility
Amount and timing of leave
Notice requirements (tier 1 and tier 2 periods)
Pay entitlements (statutory or enhanced, depending on your scheme)
Interaction with other statutory leaves (maternity, paternity, adoption)
✅ Communicate with staff
Let employees know that support is available. Highlight the importance of speaking to line managers if they need help balancing work and family demands during this period.
✅ Train line managers
Ensure managers understand the policy, how to handle sensitive conversations, and the importance of maintaining confidentiality.
✅ Prepare payroll and HR systems
Set up the necessary infrastructure to manage neonatal care pay, including statutory and enhanced entitlements, pension contributions, and holiday accrual.
At Craven, we can help you:
Draft or update neonatal care leave policies
Train managers to handle sensitive family leave requests
Prepare your contracts and staff handbooks for 2025 compliance
Advise on fair and compassionate implementation in line with ACAS guidance
If you’d like to discuss how these changes affect your business, or need help updating your documents, contact us at:
[email protected] or call 01756 860600
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