A6/2025 The Neonatal Care Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2025
Updated 1 May 2025
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Who should read
All Housing Benefit colleagues and wider if appropriate.
Action
For information.
Subject
The Neonatal Care Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2025.
Guidance manual
The information in this circular does affect the content of the HB Guidance Manual. Please annotate this circular number against Chapter BW2: Paragraphs W2.134, W2.165 to W2.170, W2.193, W2.195, W2.197, W2.500 and Annex F and Chapter BP2: Paragraphs P2.11, P2.270(ix), P2.134, W2.165 – P2.170, P2.190, P2.192 – P2.194, P2.490 and Annex F.
Queries
Extra copies of this circular/copies of previous circulars can be found at Housing Benefit for local authorities: adjudication circulars.
Queries about the:
- technical content of this circular, contact lawelfare.frauderrordebt@dwp.gov.uk
- distribution of this circular, contact lawelfare.correspondence@dwp.gov.uk
Crown Copyright 2025
Recipients may freely reproduce this circular.
Introduction
1. This circular provides details of The Social Security Neonatal Care Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations (SI 2025/201), which makes amendments to various social security legislation to enact changes made by Neonatal Care Leave and Pay.
2. SI 2025/201 amends the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/213) and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have reached the qualifying age for State Pension Credit) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/214). These changes came into force from 6 April 2025.
Background
3. Neonatal Care Leave and Pay is a new entitlement to statutory leave and payment which will support parents whose child or children are born sick or prematurely and require neonatal care. This entitlement will be in addition to other forms of statutory parental leave and pay - such as Maternity Leave and Pay, Parental Bereavement Leave, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Paternity Leave and Pay and Shared Parental Leave and Pay.
4. To quality for Neonatal Care Leave and Pay, parents must be employees of an employer and their baby must be admitted into hospital as a neonate no older than 28 days for a continuous period of seven days or more. Neonatal Care Leave and Pay entitlement is available up to a maximum of 12 weeks of a neonate hospital admission.
5. To claim neonatal pay, parents will need to have worked for their employer for at least 26 weeks prior to the baby entering neonatal care and meet the other eligibility requirements. Self-employed people will not be eligible.
Amendments to Housing Benefit Regulations
6. The following paragraphs provide details of the amendments made by SI 2025/201 to SI2006/213 and SI 2006/214.
Regulation 2 (interpretation)
7. SI2025/201 amends Regulation 2 so that a reference to neonatal care leave is added to the meaning of “employed earner” and adds a definition for “neonatal care leave”.
Regulation 6 (remunerative work)
8. A reference to neonatal care leave is added to the meaning of remunerative work so that where a claimant or their partner is on neonatal care leave, they are treated as not being in remunerative work.
Regulation 28 (Treatment of childcare charges)
9. References to Neonatal Care Leave and Pay are added to Regulation 28 so that where a claimant or their partner are on neonatal care leave and receiving neonatal care pay, they continue to be eligible for childcare charges disregard.
Regulation 35 (Earnings of employed earners)
10. Regulation 35 is amended so that neonatal care pay is treated as earnings.
Regulation 36 (Calculation of net earnings of employed earners)
11. A reference to neonatal care pay is added to the list of statutory payments in Regulation 36.
Regulation 75E (Exception to the benefit cap: current or recent work)
12. A reference to neonatal care leave is added to regulation 75E so that an exception to the benefit cap applies when the claimant meets the other conditions for the exception to apply.
13. Similar amendments have been made to Regulations 2, 6, 31, 35 and 36 in SI 2006/214
Regulation 29 (meaning of income)
14. Neonatal care pay is added to the list of payments which are not treated as income in Regulation 29 of SI 2006/214 as it is treated as earnings in Regulation 35.