Petition · past parliament · Department for Work and Pensions
Introduce neonatal leave and pay entitlement immediately
Closed
1,390 signatures
What the petition asks
The government has agreed to introduce neonatal leave and pay entitlement but not until April 2023, this is completely unacceptable & it needs implementing immediately.
Our baby was born in June 2021 at just 24 weeks gestation, he wasn't due until October, he was 16 weeks early.
Our baby was born in June 2021 at just 24 weeks gestation, he wasn't due until October, he was 16 weeks early.
We're now 30wks in hospital with many more months to come, 28 of these weeks was spent in NICU.
We are 7 months into 9 months statutory maternity pay & we have no idea how we will afford our bills once we lose this payment as 1 income doesn't cover them. My wife can't go back to work whilst our baby is still in hospital & has never been home. We can't claim disability or carers allowance as our baby has never left hospital since birth. We could lose everything after March due to this bill being delayed.
We are 7 months into 9 months statutory maternity pay & we have no idea how we will afford our bills once we lose this payment as 1 income doesn't cover them. My wife can't go back to work whilst our baby is still in hospital & has never been home. We can't claim disability or carers allowance as our baby has never left hospital since birth. We could lose everything after March due to this bill being delayed.
Timeline
| 18 Jan 2022 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 18 Jul 2022 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
1,390
Status
Closed
Department
Department for Work and Pensions
Opened
18 Jan 2022
Closed
18 Jul 2022
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.