March 2025 Newsletter

I am so pleased its March, at long last spring is coming.

This month is my birthday and Mothers Day, for this reason across social media this month I will be doing a Mothers Day special discussing all the legislation that would apply to mothers in the workplace -theres a lot to cover.

I will be discussing these areas:

• Fertility
• Pregnancy risk assessments
• Time off for antenatal classes
• Sickness absence
• Maternity leave and pay
• Shared parental leave
• Adoption leave
• Flexible working requests
• Redundancy
• Miscarriage and still birth
• Discrimination
• The new Neonatal leave

There's lots of legislation around pregnancy and working mothers. I highly recommend you get your policies up to date as legislation is always changing. If you have any queries around family friendly policies or legislation please contact me.

I will also be delivering the team talk at Non League Networking Malvern on 11th March, where I will be focussing on the legislation around working mothers - book on now!

April 2025

Just a reminder that national minimum wage rates increase from April. Please ensure you make any changes to payroll.

We also have some changes to statutory rates from 6th April 2025, please ensure you apply the new rates when processing payroll:

Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)

Statutory rate or 90% of employee's weekly earnings if this is lower.

￡187.18

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)

First six weeks — 90% of employee's average weekly earnings. Remaining weeks at the statutory rate or 90% of employee's weekly earnings if this is lower.

￡187.18

Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)

First six weeks — 90% of employee's average weekly earnings.

Remaining weeks at the statutory rate or 90% of employee's weekly earnings if this is lower.

￡187.18

Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)

Statutory rate or 90% of employee's weekly earnings if this is lower.

￡187.18

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP)

Statutory rate or 90% of employee's weekly earnings if this is lower.

￡187.18

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP)

Statutory rate or 90% of employee's weekly earnings if this is lower. For eligible parents of babies born on, or after, 6 April 2025 in receipt of specified neonatal care.

￡187.18

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

￡118.75

Employers National Insurance Contributions

15%

The new Neonatal Leave Act will come into force on 6th April 2025, this is a day one right.

This leave will allow parents to take up to 12 weeks’ leave if their baby is admitted to hospital in the first 28 days after birth for a continuous stay of at least a week.

The Act sets out three categories of medical care which will count as neonatal care, these are:

• Any medical care received in hospital
• Medical care received elsewhere following discharge from an inpatient stay hospital. The care must be under the direction of a consultant and includes ongoing monitoring and visits to the child by healthcare professionals; or
• Palliative or end of life care

In order to qualify for Neonatal leave (NCL) the following conditions must be met:

• You must be an employee
• The baby must be born on or after 6th April 2025
• At the birth of the baby, you must be the baby’s parents, intended parents (in relation to surrogacy) or partner to the baby’s mother and you must have or expect to have responsibility for raising the child (similar rules apply in relation to adoption)
• The newborn must be admitted to neonatal care within the first 28 days of birth and must remain in neonatal care for at least 7 continuous days
• Neonatal care leave must be taken to provide care for the baby

Leave must be taken within the first 68 weeks of the baby’s birth (or placement in the case of adoption). As many people will already be on some form of family leave while their baby is in neonatal care, neonatal leave will often be taken after neonatal care has ended and at the end of maternity/shared parental or adoption leave.

Neonatal Leave will be paid at the rate above (in the table).

I recommend you put a Neonatal Leave policy in place and communicate this to staff, for you policy please contact me.

Don't you just hate it when people say they have exciting news?

Well, hate away. I have some exciting news coming in April. I will be launching a new product which you are guaranteed to love. As always with me - watch this space.

Have a wonderful March!