Will you become an Employer with Heart?
Born too soon, premature babies can spend weeks and months in hospital before their parents are able to bring them home. Fathers and partners juggle work and family commitments as paternity leave fails to cover the time they need while their baby remains in neonatal intensive care (NICU). Mothers, recovering from the trauma of premature birth, wait beside incubators hoping for the precious moment they can finally hold their baby. At The Smallest Things, we believe time spent watching a tiny baby in neonatal intensive care simply isn’t maternity or paternity leave.
Life after neonatal intensive care
But the journey doesn’t end there. Parents and carers have told us of the ongoing medical needs of babies born too soon, the complex array of mental health difficulties they’ve experienced and the financial pressures placed on them. Returning to work so soon after a baby has come home from hospital, whilst the trauma remains raw and babies are still fragile, is an enormous strain on families – emotionally, financially and logistically. For many, the strain is too much and they are left with no choice but to leave the workforce.
Our research report, After NICU 2021, revealed that over half of premature babies were readmitted to hospital to after being discharged. Almost 1 in 4 parents were diagnosed with PTSD after a neonatal stay and over three quarters experienced anxiety.
That is why The Smallest Things is asking employers to support parents and carers of premature babies by extending paid parental leave and signing up to our Employer with Heart 2.0 Charter.
Click a button below to find out more and access resources.
What do you want to do today?
“It’s a small thing we can do that will make a huge difference for families. I don’t understand why more employers don’t do this.”
“The most traumatic experience of my entire 35 years: PPROM (Preterm, Prelabour Rupture Of Membranes) at 26 weeks; delivery of a 1lb 4oz (567g) baby I was scared to even look at, let alone allow myself to love; 98 days of touch and go; ventilators; infections; procedures; and heartache. One thing is for certain, this is not maternity leave.”
“It’s so important for new parents to feel supported. In that moment, everything else takes a back seat and it’s wonderful that Sony Music are acknowledging that by introducing this.”
“My employer had signed up to The Smallest Things Employer with Heart charter so I got an extra 10 weeks of paid maternity leave. If this had not been in place, I would have missed out on Spencer walking for the first time. It has made a huge difference to my family.”
Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) legislation
Stuart C McDonald MP presents the third reading of his Bill to Parliament.
Since the charity’s birth in 2014, we called on the government to extend parental leave for families whose babies are born prematurely. More than 357,000 people signed our petition, we organised a march to Parliament and we met various Business Ministers and MPs to keep the issue high on the agenda. In 2022, after successful campaigning, we worked with Stuart C McDonald MP on his private member’s ballot bill, Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay).
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill received Royal Assent and became law in 2023, however, it will not become available to parents and carers until April 2025. We urge employers not to wait, and to support their staff now!
Employer with Heart 2.0 goes above and beyond the forthcoming statutory requirements, making it the true gold standard for compassionate, family-friendly employers who value their workforce.
Neonatal Leave will apply to parents of babies who are admitted into hospital up to the age of 28 days and have a continuous stay in hospital of seven days or more. It will be paid at around £160 per week, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
Employers with Heart 2.0 will extend leave for the number of days between premature birth (before 37 weeks) and due date for both parents at full pay.