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Part 1GENERAL

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (General) Regulations 2025.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 6th April 2025.

(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, and Scotland.

Application

2.  These Regulations apply in respect of children who are born on or after 6th April 2025.

Interpretation

3.  In these Regulations—

“the 1992 Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1);

“the 1996 Act” means the Employment Rights Act 1996(2);

“associated employer” is to be construed in accordance with section 231 of the 1996 Act;

“C” means the child in relation to whom an entitlement to statutory neonatal care pay arises;

“the Commissioners” means the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;

“relevant week” has the meaning given in section 171ZZ16(6) of the 1992 Act;

“statutory neonatal care pay” means statutory neonatal care pay payable in accordance with Part 12ZE of the 1992 Act;

“statutory pay week” has the meaning given in section 171ZZ19(11) of the 1992 Act;

“Tier 1 period” means the period beginning with the day C starts receiving neonatal care and ending with the 7th day after the day C stops receiving neonatal care;

“Tier 2 period” means any period of time in the qualifying period specified in regulation 10 (qualifying period) which is not a tier 1 period;

“week”, except in Part 3, means a period of seven days(3).

Definition of neonatal care

4.—(1) The prescribed kinds of care within the meaning of “neonatal care” for the purposes of Part 12ZE of the 1992 Act are—

(a)medical care received in a hospital;

(b)medical care received in any other place that meets the following criteria—

(i)the child was an inpatient in hospital and the care is received upon that child leaving hospital;

(ii)the care is under the direction of a consultant; and

(iii)the care includes ongoing monitoring by, and visits to the child from, healthcare professionals arranged by the hospital referred to in paragraph (i); and

(c)palliative or end-of-life care.

(2) For the purposes of Part 12ZE of the 1992 Act and these Regulations, neonatal care is to be treated as continuing without interruption throughout any period spent by C being transported from one place where neonatal care is received to another place where neonatal care is received.

(3) In this regulation—

“consultant” means a registered medical practitioner who —

(a)

is an NHS consultant within the meaning of section 55 of the Medical Act 1983(4) employed for the purposes of providing any service as part of—

(i)

the health service as defined by section 275(1) of the National Health Service Act 2006(5) or section 206(1) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006(6); or

(ii)

the health service as defined by section 108(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(7);

(b)

is on the Specialist Register kept by the General Medical Council under section 34D of the Medical Act 1983(8) and holds a consultant post; or

(c)

does not fall within (a) or (b) but meets one of the following criteria -

(i)

is working as a locum consultant in the NHS or in private practice,

(ii)

is working as a consultant in private practice; or

(iii)

is working as a consultant in the armed forces;

“hospital” means—

(a)

any institution for the reception and treatment of persons suffering from illness, and

(b)

any maternity home,

including clinics and out-patient departments maintained in connection with any such institution or home.

(3)

For the meaning of “week” in Part 3 of these Regulations, see section 171ZZ24(5) of the 1992 Act.

(4)

1983 c. 54. Section 55 was amended by S.I. 2010/234 and 2010/478. The section defines NHS consultant to mean a consultant other than a locum consultant but including an honorary consultant.

(8)

1983 c. 54. Amended by S.I. 2019/593.