Parents to receive additional neonatal care leave payment as legislation changes
Tiny But Mighty Swindon supports parents with babies in neonatal care
Many new parents in Swindon and across the UK are entitled to more paid leave a new legislation comes into effect today.
Mothers and fathers can now claim up to 12 weeks of additional parental leave if their baby has to receive neonatal care.
To qualify for Neonatal Care Leave (NCL), the baby must be born on or after 6 April 2025 and admitted to a neonatal care unit within 28 days of birth.
Chloe Kirwan, CEO of Swindon charity Tiny But Mighty, said: “It's fantastic to see that the policy has now come in and it's great to see that some companies have already instigated this before and it’s becoming legislation.
“It will make a huge difference to families who are facing any sort of neonatal leave, but especially if it's a neonatal stay in the unit for a lengthy amount of time”.
In the UK, more than 60,000 babies are admitted to neonatal care units every year – this equates to around one in seven births.
On average, a family will spend £300 for every week their baby has to receive neonatal treatment.
“That will be on petrol, parking, food, additional equipment they need to buy, like premature dummies, premature nappies, those kind of things”, explained Ms. Kirwan.
“Things that you may have bought, actually won't be what you need anymore. You may have bought a car seat that for someone born at 28 weeks is not going to be right. You'll need to buy a car seat to help them with their airways if they come home on oxygen, those sorts of things.
“So, the implications of having a neonatal stay financially are huge. It's much bigger than just losing your maternity pay or just losing that time – it’s the additional stuff that you need to buy to support your baby”.
However, the criteria for the extra payment are narrow.
The baby must be in uninterrupted neonatal care for eight days for parents to be able to claim one week of NCL.
Parents of twins or other multiple births can only claim NCL once, if both babies receive neonatal care at the same time.
While Ms. Kirwan thinks the new legislation is a step in the right direction, she also said that there is “more that needs to be done”.
“It will definitely mean that the pressure is taken off and mums can hopefully sit back and try and enjoy that time while they're in the unit looking after their baby and not have to worry about that financial situation.
“That said, I think there's still more that needs to be done to support parents in the neonatal unit. You’re paying £300 a week. If you're only getting £125 statutory neonatal care leave, it's still a huge gap to bridge, to be able to support parents.
“But it's a step in the right direction, so it will certainly help take the pressure off”.