Guide to qualifying for statutory neonatal care pay (SNCP)

Following the introduction of the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, employees with a parental or other personal relationship with a baby who is receiving neonatal care can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave which, subject to meeting the relevant criteria, will be paid at the statutory rate.

This includes a minimum entitlement of one week, in addition to other leave entitlements such as maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave A scheme that allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay after their baby is born or adopted.. SNCP applies to employees in England, Scotland and Wales, but not currently Northern Ireland.

Key factors of Statutory Neonatal care include:

• 26 weeks continuous service required.

• Paid at the standard HMRC His Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of state support, the administration of other regulatory regimes including the national minimum wage and the issuance of national insurance numbers. rate or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).

• The employee must take leave within the first 68 weeks of their baby’s birth to qualify for SNCP.

Statutory neonatal Care Pay can be taken in two tiers:

• Tier One

  Applies to employees who take their leave while their child is in neonatal care or within the 1st week following their discharge. This tier can be taken flexibly in weekly periods that do not need to be consecutive.

• Tier Two

  Applies after the Tier One period ends and until the end of the 68-week period following the child’s birth date. Any Tier Two leave must be taken in one continuous block.

Good to know...

• Most commonly, an employee will be entitled to SNCP along with another statutory payment, e.g. SMP Statutory Maternity Pay is the pay an employer must give to female employees on maternity leave, for up to 39 weeks..
  An employee cannot receive SNCP where the leave dates overlap with another statutory payment; they must be paid consecutively.
  
  For example, an employee can only receive SNCP once their SMP entitlement is complete.