TinyLife warmly welcomes the Department for the Economy’s new consultation on proposals to introduce a range of enhancements to employment legislation, including paid neonatal leave. Paid neonatal leave in England, Scotland and Wales has already been legislated for at Westminster. We are delighted that action is now being taken to introduce similar provisions for Northern Ireland, providing vital additional support for families with children who have spent time on a neonatal unit, for which we have been advocating for over the past couple of years!
The Department is proposing to give eligible working parents of babies admitted to neonatal care an additional week of statutory leave and/or pay for each week that their child is in hospital – up to a maximum number of 12 weeks.
You can read the Department’s full proposals on neonatal leave here (from p.115) and respond to the consultation online here
TinyLife will soon be producing guidance to help you respond to the consultation. Keep an eye on our social media channels for more information in the coming weeks!