Policy statement
This policy sets out the entitlement of employees to neonatal care leave and pay following the birth of a baby who is admitted to hospital in the four-week period following their birth. This will apply to employees in birthing, adoption and surrogacy circumstances.
This policy should be read in conjunction with the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) family leave policy and guidance documents (see UKRI employment policies), as well as any other UKRI policies which are relevant to an employee’s personal circumstances.
Management statement
We understand that having a baby in neonatal care is an extremely stressful and challenging experience. As an organisation, our aim is to support employees to prioritise family and their own health and wellbeing.
This policy is owned by the HR Policy Team and will be reviewed by them in line with the policy review process and principles.
This policy is agreed with the UKRI trade union side and UKRI management side via the formal Joint Negotiating Consultative Committee (JNCC).
1. What is neonatal care leave
1.1 Neonatal care leave is time off work, designed to assist new parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care within 28 days following the day after birth.
1.2 In this policy, neonatal care means:
- medical care that your baby receives in a hospital
- medical care that your baby receives in any other place
- palliative or end-of-life care
For medical care that your baby receives in any other place, the following criteria apply to qualify for this policy:
- your baby was previously admitted to a hospital as an inpatient and needs continuing care after leaving the hospital
- the care is under the direction of a consultant
- the care involves ongoing monitoring and visits from healthcare professionals arranged by the hospital where your baby was an inpatient
1.3 The right to neonatal care leave is in addition to any other contractual leave and pay that you may be entitled to, such as maternity, adoption, maternity support, unpaid parental, parental bereavement or shared parental.
1.4 We advise you to discuss your specific circumstances with your designated HR team to understand how to best coordinate these various leave policies for optimal support.
2. Entitlement to neonatal care leave and pay
2.1 There is no qualifying period for employees to be eligible for neonatal leave and pay, this is considered a ‘day one’ right if the qualifying criteria are met.
2.2 The main qualifying criteria are:
- your baby was born on or after 6 April 2025
- your baby started receiving neonatal care within 28 days after the date on which they were born (the 28 days are counted from the day after the baby is born)
- the neonatal care has lasted seven days or longer without interruption (the seven days are counted from the day after the neonatal care started)
- you are taking the leave to care for your baby (excluding if you suffer a bereavement)
- you have complied with the relevant notice and declaration requirements set out in this policy
Additional criteria
2.3 Additionally, you must meet the following criteria in the case of birth parents, adoptive parents or parents through a surrogacy arrangement.
Criteria for birth parents or partners
2.3.1 At the point of birth you are one of the following:
- the baby’s birth parent and have responsibility for the upbringing of the baby
- the partner of the baby’s birth parent and have main responsibility for the upbringing of the baby (apart from the birth parent)
Criteria for adoptive parents
2.3.2 For adoptions within the UK, you are entitled to neonatal care leave if at the date the baby is placed for adoption:
- you are the baby’s adopter and have or expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the baby
- you are the baby’s prospective adopter (in a ‘foster to adopt’ arrangement) and have or expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the baby
- you are the partner of the baby’s adopter or prospective adopter and have main responsibility for the upbringing of the baby (apart from your partner)
2.3.3 For adoptions from overseas, you are entitled to neonatal care leave if at the date the baby enters the UK:
- you are the baby overseas adopter and have or expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the baby
- you are the partner of the baby’s overseas adopter and have main responsibility for the upbringing of the baby (apart from your partner)
Criteria for surrogate parents
2.3.4 If you are having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement, you are entitled to neonatal care leave if at the date of the baby’s birth all of the following apply:
- you have applied or intend to apply for a parental order within a period of six months
- you expect the parental order to be granted
- you have or expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the baby
3. Amount of neonatal care leave that can be taken
3.1 Parents can take one week for every week the baby has spent in neonatal care without interruption, up to a maximum of twelve weeks.
3.2 Any neonatal care leave must be taken in blocks of at least one week.
3.3 In the case of multiple births, where more than one baby is admitted to neonatal care, the maximum leave period for that pregnancy will be capped at 12 weeks.
4. How neonatal care leave may be taken
4.1 If you have not started your maternity or adoption leave when the baby is born, it will automatically begin at this point.
4.2 If the baby is born early, partners can choose to begin their maternity support leave and shared parental leave as originally planned, or they can choose to take neonatal care leave.
4.3 Either parent can choose to start neonatal care leave on any day after the baby has received seven days of uninterrupted neonatal care. The seven days are counted from the day after the neonatal care started. For example, if the baby started receiving neonatal care on 7 April, the seven-day count begins on 8 April. This means that neonatal care leave can start on any day from 15 April.
4.4 All accrued neonatal care leave should be taken in the first 68 weeks following the baby’s birth.
4.5 Neonatal care leave is available to take in two tiers:
- tier 1 starts when your baby begins neonatal care and ends seven days after discharge, leave can be taken either in weekly blocks or a single block
- tier 2 starts on the eighth day the baby is discharged and can only be taken as a single block
5. Notice to take neonatal care leave
5.1 UKRI understands that having a baby in neonatal care is incredibly difficult. If you are unable to meet the notice timescales set out below, you should contact your designated HR team or line manager to discuss available options and provide as much flexibility as possible
5.2 For each single week of neonatal care leave that you wish to take you should provide notice to UKRI 15 days prior to taking the leave.
5.3 If you are taking two weeks or more leave, we request 28 days notice.
5.4 You are required to complete a notification form to submit alongside your request.
5.5 If you have submitted a notice of intention and entitlement to take neonatal care leave during the tier 2 period but wish to cancel your leave, you must inform your line manager.
6. Occupational neonatal care leave pay
You will continue to be paid your standard rate of pay during any period of neonatal care leave whilst you remain an employee of UKRI. This is inclusive of any entitlement to statutory neonatal pay.
7. Contact during neonatal care leave
7.1 You must provide the following information to confirm your correct accrual of neonatal care leave:
- the first date the baby goes into neonatal care
- the date the baby is released from neonatal care
- any subsequent readmissions to neonatal care
7.2 UKRI may contact you during extended periods of neonatal care leave to maintain appropriate welfare conversations. This may be to discuss your plans for taking leave, to discuss any special arrangements to ease your time away from work, or to update you on developments at work during your absence.
8. Your rights during neonatal care leave, including annual leave and public and privilege days
8.1 All terms and conditions of your contract except normal pay will continue. Your pay for this period will be replaced with occupational neonatal care pay, inclusive of any statutory neonatal care leave pay as confirmed above.
8.2 You will continue to accrue your normal annual leave entitlement during your neonatal care leave.
8.3 Any public and privilege days that fall during a period of neonatal leave should be taken on return to work.
8.4 Where you have been unable to use your annual leave balance due to being on neonatal leave (or a combination of other statutory leave), speak to your line manager about an exceptional carry over to the following year. Any carried leave needs to be brought in line with the standard policy arrangements in that next year.
9. Returning to work after neonatal care leave
9.1 If you are returning from a period of neonatal care leave you will resume your permanent role upon your return to work.
9.2 In the event any change is required which affects the permanent role (either during the period away or on the return to work), it will be communicated and consulted on in line with the appropriate process.
10. Implications for other statutory leave entitlements
10.1 You are entitled to take neonatal care leave in addition to any other statutory leave that you are entitled to, including:
- maternity leave
- adoption leave
- paternity leave
- unpaid parental leave
- parental bereavement
- shared parental leave
10.2 If another period of statutory leave has already commenced, but subsequently the baby requires neonatal care in the four-week window, you can take your neonatal care leave after completing the other statutory leave, provided that your neonatal care leave is taken within 68 weeks of your baby’s birth date.
10.3 If you have already started a period of neonatal care leave during the tier 1 period but need to begin another type of statutory leave, your neonatal care leave will be temporarily paused to allow the other period of statutory leave to apply. You can then resume the remaining weeks of your neonatal care leave by raising your request in the tier 1 or tier 2 notice.
10.4 You cannot take neonatal care leave in the tier 2 period if, at the time of giving notice, you are aware that the leave will overlap with another type of statutory leave.