Babies that are born prematurely or sick may need to receive neonatal care in a hospital or another agreed care setting – usually for an extended period of time. Whilst this time is already an extremely stressful one for parents, it can place added pressure on them from an employment perspective as they will understandably want to be with their child and not attend work.
The positive news is that under a new Government-backed Bill, parents of babies who need additional care could soon be offered paid neonatal leave.
What is the new Bill?
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill, introduced by Stuart C McDonald, will allow parents to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave as well as other parental leave entitlements, for example, maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave. This will allow parents to spend more time with their baby and will also stop parents from feeling the pressure to go back to work when their baby is still undergoing hospital care.
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill has been backed by MPs, following its second reading in Parliament on Friday, 15 July 2022.
Should the Bill become law, neonatal care leave will be a “day one right” (i.e. available to employees from their first day in a new job). It will also apply to parents of babies who are admitted into hospital up to the age of 28 days, and who have been in hospital constantly for seven days or more.
Jane Hunt, Business Minister, commented on the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill:
“Having a newborn in neonatal care is an incredibly worrying time for parents. No family should also have to agonise about their return to work, or whether they have enough leave in place.
By putting our full weight behind this Bill I hope it can take one concern off the minds of new parents and give them the additional paid time off they need to care for their poorly baby.”
The Bill will help parents, especially with the rising cost of living. It will help ease the emotional pressure as well as some financial pressures parents are dealing with due to them having to continuously take unpaid leave to be with their child.
When will this Bill be introduced?
It is hoped that the Bill will be introduced in 2024 or 2025. This is because HM Revenue & Customs and commercial payroll providers often require roughly 18 months to implement changes, permitting employers enough time to administer new statuary payments across the organisation.
The Government has said if the Bill successfully completes all the stages of Parliament in 2023 then it will likely be implemented 18 months after that date.
What should I be doing as an employer?
As we have already alluded to, there is currently no legal requirement to provide workers with paid neonatal leave in the UK. However, we are aware of some UK companies who have taken the initiative to implement their own paid neonatal leave policies despite it not being the law to do so.
In the absence of any current UK law concerning neonatal leave, it is up to employers as to whether or not they implement policies. However, if employers choose not to then it would still be important to support employees going through traumatising experiences from a well-being perspective.
Going the extra mile to help employees manage their well-being during this difficult time, gives them more of an incentive to remain employed with the employer. Also, employees who feel valued and understood will likely be happier and will then be more productive at work.
How can we help?
For further information or advice concerning the subjects discussed in this article, please contact a member of our expert Employment Law team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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