According to the premature baby charity, Bliss, every year, over 90,000 babies are cared for in neonatal units in the UK because they have either been born prematurely or with serious health problems at full term birth.
This means that around 1 in 7 babies born in the UK are admitted to a neonatal unit each year.
The amount of time a baby spends in neonatal care can vary but some of the most premature and the sickest babies can spend months in hospital. For example, the Bliss charity suggests that the average length of stay for a baby born between 28 to 31 weeks is 44 days.
This can be an extremely stressful time for the parents and one thing that adds to this stress is having to take unpaid leave from work to stay with the child, or indeed having to go back to work when they would prefer to be at the hospital. Very often parents use up months of their maternity/paternity leave entitlement before the baby has even left hospital.
On 15 July 2022, the Government backed the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill, to provide the parents of babies who need additional care with paid neonatal leave.
What does this mean for a parent?
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill, introduced by Stuart C McDonald, will allow parents to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave in addition to other parental leave entitlements, for example, maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave. This will allow parents to spend critical time with their baby and will also stop parents from feeling the pressure to go back to work when their baby is still undergoing neonatal care.
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. 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 neonatal care leave will be a “day one right” (i.e. available to employees from their first day in employment). It will also apply to parents of babies who are admitted into hospital up to the age of 28 days, and who have a continuous stay in hospital of 7 full days or more.
In the meantime, employers will hopefully work with their employee to give them the flexibility they need at this difficult time. If you find that you have been dismissed for taking too much time off work in this sort of situation or for requesting statutory leave, then please get in touch and we can advise on whether you may be able to pursue an unfair dismissal claim.
What does it mean for the employer?
Currently there is no legal requirement to provide workers with paid neonatal leave in the UK, so in the absence of any current UK law, it is up to employers to implement their own policies should they wish to do so.
If an employer does not have a policy in place, and many won’t, it is important to still be as flexible and understanding as possible to support an employee who is going through such a traumatic life experience. An employee who feels supported will be more likely to remain with the business in the future and less likely to raise a grievance about any feeling that they were not treated well.
Some things that you could consider are:
– Extending an employee’s maternity/paternity entitlement to cover this period
– Offering flexible hours so that an employee can spend some time at work and some time at the hospital
It’s fair to say that the types of measures that you could consider will vary depending on the nature of your business, so if you need guidance on this area or on implementing a neonatal policy then please get in touch with our team.
(Source https://www.bliss.org.uk/research-campaigns/neonatal-care-statistics/statistics-about-neonatal-care)
# What does the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill mean for employers and employees?