SPM167500 | Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP) - general information: Neonatal Care Leave (NCL)

Employees are eligible to NCL as a Day 1 right. This means the leave is available from an employee’s first day of employment.

For every 7 full consecutive days where the child receives neonatal care an employee is eligible for 1 weeks’ NCL.

The employee will accrue further leave for every 7 full continuous days the baby remains in neonatal care.

NCL provides employees with up to 12 weeks' leave for each child who has been in neonatal care.

The employee can decide whether to take a tier 1 or tier 2 period of NCL, see SPM150200 for definitions of tier 1 and tier 2.

Tier 1

NCL in tier 1 is taken while the child is in neonatal care or in the first week following their discharge.

Leave may be taken as soon as it is accrued when care is ongoing.

If NCL overlaps with any other prebooked parental leave such as Shared Parental Leave, it can be paused to allow the pre-booked leave to be taken.

Any remaining NCL must be taken immediately after the end of the other type of Statutory Parental Leave.

Tier 2

NCL in Tier 2 is taken at any time outside of a Tier 1 period. This is the period when the child is no longer receiving neonatal care.

NCL in Tier 2 must be taken in a single continuous block before or at the end of any other existing parental leave entitlements excluding Maternity and Adoption.

The employee can choose when they want to take their NCL, as long as it is taken within 68 weeks from the date of the child’s birth, provided acceptable notice is given, see SPM150600.