How to claim neonatal care leave and pay

Who qualifies for leave, and who qualifies for pay?

GOV.UK’s check if you’re eligible page (checked 10 September 2026) sets a shared starting gate: baby born on or after 6 April 2025; 7 days or more in a row in neonatal care; you are the baby’s parent or the partner of the baby’s mother and have caring responsibility; you are taking the leave to care for the baby. Neonatal care on the overview page includes hospital care, consultant-led medical care after leaving hospital that includes ongoing visits or checks arranged by the treating hospital, and palliative or end-of-life care. Care that starts in the first 28 days after birth is the window those pages describe.

Leave (GOV.UK): you must be classed as an employee — length of service does not matter — be employed in England, Scotland or Wales, and give notice. Acas and the employer technical guide call leave a day-one right. Pay is a second test: continuously employed for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the “qualifying week”, still employed up to the week before pay starts, and average earnings of £125 a week (before tax) or more over an 8-week period, on the GOV.UK eligibility page. If you get Maternity or Paternity Pay, the qualifying week is the 15th week before the baby is due; if you get Statutory Adoption Pay, it is the week you were told you were matched; otherwise it is the week immediately before the baby enters neonatal care.

Northern Ireland: GOV.UK’s leave test is “employed in England, Scotland or Wales”. The 2025 pay regulations extend to Great Britain only. Bliss states the 6 April 2025 entitlement does not currently apply in Northern Ireland because employment law is devolved. This page does not invent a start date for NI.

How much leave and pay do the official pages set out?

GOV.UK: one week’s leave for every 7 full and continuous days in neonatal care, for up to 12 weeks. The leave must be taken within 68 weeks (just under 16 months) of the baby’s birth date, including if the baby is adopted. Acas: only complete 7-day periods count; part weeks are not included. The 7 consecutive days start the day after admission (Acas example: admitted any time on a Monday, Tuesday is day 1).

How do I give notice to my employer?

You claim through your employer. How much notice you give depends on whether you are in tier 1 (while the baby is in neonatal care, or in the first week after) or tier 2 (more than a week after the baby has left neonatal care). GOV.UK’s how to claim page is the sequence below.

1. 1
   Tier 1 — tell them on the day leave starts Tell your employer on the day you want leave to start, ideally before you usually start work or as soon as you can afterwards. Phone, voicemail or text is enough for leave — it does not need to be in writing. If you need another week, tell them again by the end of the previous week. If a long stay is likely, they may agree less frequent contact. Tell them the date the baby leaves neonatal care as soon as you can.
2. 2
   Tier 1 pay notice can follow You can give written notice for pay up to 28 days after leave starts (email or letter).
3. 3
   Tier 2 — give written notice in advance One week of leave and pay: 15 days before it starts. Two or more weeks: 28 days in advance. This notice must be in writing.
4. 4
   Put the facts in writing for leave and pay GOV.UK list: your full name; the baby’s date of birth (and placement date or date they entered Great Britain if adopted from overseas); start and end date of neonatal care; when you want leave to begin; how many weeks you want. For pay and leave, also confirm you will care for the baby in the period, and that you are the parent or the mother’s partner with caring responsibilities (relationship details only the first time).
5. 5
   Choose NEO3, an email or the employer’s form GOV.UK: complete declaration form NEO3 online, print it and post or email it to the employer; or send an email or letter; or use the employer’s own form. If more than one baby is in neonatal care, provide the information for each baby.

If you disagree with a pay decision, GOV.UK says contact the employer first. If you cannot agree, contact the Statutory Payments Dispute Team within 6 months of the date of the decision.

When can I take tier 1 and tier 2 leave?

Acas: tier 1 covers the time the child is still receiving care and extends to 1 week after that care ends. Tier 2 is any remaining leave after tier 1, still inside 68 weeks of birth. Employees cannot start neonatal care leave until the first 7 full days have passed. If you are not already on planned leave, Acas says you might need another type of leave for those first 7 days, for example time off for dependants.

If you are already on maternity leave, you do not pause it to switch. GOV.UK and Acas: Neonatal Care Leave is added at the end of maternity or adoption leave. Paternity leave can sit first; unused neonatal weeks can be taken later as tier 2 if you give the written notice.

Self-employed people: Bliss states Neonatal Care Leave and Pay is currently for employees only. That matches GOV.UK’s “classed as an employee” leave test.

Does this apply in Northern Ireland?

Not as a statutory right on the date this page was checked. GOV.UK’s eligibility wording is employment in England, Scotland or Wales. The Statutory Neonatal Care Pay regulations’ explanatory notes say the instruments extend to England and Wales and Scotland; employment law is devolved in Northern Ireland. Bliss (checked 10 September 2026) says the 6 April 2025 entitlement does not currently apply in Northern Ireland and that a public consultation there closed in September 2024, with no in-force date on that FAQ.

In shortEmployees in England, Scotland and Wales claim through the employer: 7 continuous days starting within 28 days, notice by tier, NEO3 or a letter, inside 68 weeks. Pay is a second test (26 weeks and the £125 GOV.UK floor). Read the live GOV.UK weekly figure; Northern Ireland is not in force on the cited pages.