It's All About People - 13th March 2025

READ TIME - 3 minute read

At the weekend I was part of a celebration for International Women’s Day with Rock Choir. For those of you who have been readers for a while will know, I love being part of Rock Choir.

When you are a busy working parent and business owner, it is so important to have hobbies and interests that are just for you. There is so much research in to the benefits of singing on mental health, and I certainly come away from every rehearsal and performance on a total high.

From 6th April, a huge change to parental leave rights comes into effect, so you only have 3 weeks to make the changes. It’s been a long time coming but, neo-natal leave and pay are coming in to force.

Neonatal Leave & Pay: What’s Changing?

For the first time, parents of babies in neonatal care will be entitled to:

✅ Up to 12 weeks of paid leave – This is in addition to maternity, paternity, or shared parental leave.
✅ Statutory Neonatal Pay (SNP) – Eligible employees will be entitled to paid leave at the same rate as statutory maternity/paternity pay.
✅ Job protection – Employees taking neonatal leave cannot be dismissed or treated unfairly because of it.

Who qualifies?
🔹 The baby must have been born prematurely or require at least 7 days in neonatal care.
🔹 The leave must be taken within 68 weeks of birth.
🔹 It applies to employees only (not self-employed workers).

What Employers Need to Do NOW

💼 Update relevant policies – Make sure neonatal leave and pay are included in parental leave policies.
📢 Communicate with employees – Ensure parents (and managers!) understand this new right.
📊 Check your payroll system – Statutory Neonatal Pay (SNP) needs to be properly processed.
🎓 Train your managers – They need to know how to support employees who take neonatal leave.

Going Beyond the Law: Supporting Parents in Neonatal Care

Having a baby in neonatal care is one of the most stressful experiences a parent can face. While the law gives them time, employers can do even more to offer genuine support.

💙 Flexible working – Consider temporary adjustments when employees return to work, like flexible hours or remote working.
💙 Enhanced neonatal pay – If you can, offer full pay for some (or all) of the 12 weeks to ease financial strain.
💙 Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) – Parents in this situation may need mental health support—ensure they know what’s available.
💙 Paid time off for partners – If an employee’s partner is the one on neonatal leave, consider offering them extra flexibility too.
💙 Return-to-work support – A phased return or manager check-ins can help parents settle back in without added pressure.

💡 Ask the HR Consultant: "How do I know if I’m paying my team the right salary?"

Great question! 💷 If you’re worried about:

🚩 Overpaying and cutting into profits
🚩 Underpaying and losing talent
🚩 Keeping up with market rates

The answer is benchmarking.

📊 We help businesses compare salaries against industry standards, location, and company size—so you can stay competitive without overpaying.

If you need a salary benchmarking report, just ask!

Ask the HR Consultant: Got a burning question? 🔥

Email me and I’ll answer it in a future edition!

Until next time….

Emma

P.S. If you're a member of our HR Hub, then we have all the documents you need for neo-natal pay and leave in there for you.

P.P.S.  If you are not a Hub member why not give it for FREE for a month. You can do that here.

Events to Join in the coming weeks (click on the links to join us)

^{Lunch & Learn: Manage Redundancy with Compassion and Support - free to all clients, £35+VAT for non-clients). 18th March 12-1pm}

^{HR Clinic - FREE to all. 10th April 12-1pm}

^{Lunch & Learn: Understanding and Enforcing Restrictive Covenants Support - free to all clients, £35+VAT for non-clients). 26th April 12-1pm}

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