The Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations 2025
These regulations, effective April 6, 2025, extend statutory neonatal care pay eligibility under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 to individuals working abroad, mariners, and those employed on the continental shelf.
The regulations specify conditions for eligibility, including employment location, employer liability for national insurance contributions, and periods of employment in the EEA. They also clarify the treatment of individuals under existing UK and EU social security legislation and establish procedures for compliance with time limits, particularly for those temporarily outside of the UK.
Arguments For
Extending Parental Benefits: These regulations extend the benefits of statutory neonatal care pay to a wider range of individuals, including those working abroad, mariners, and those on the continental shelf, promoting fairness and inclusivity in parental leave policies.
Addressing Gaps in Coverage: Existing legislation may not adequately cover the specific circumstances of mariners or those working temporarily abroad. These regulations aim to address gaps in coverage to ensure consistent treatment and access to parental benefits.
Alignment with International Standards: The regulations consider the impact of international employment and social security agreements, enhancing alignment with international standards for worker protection and parental support.
Legal Basis and Implementation: The regulations are explicitly based on the powers conferred by sections 171ZZ23 and 171ZZ24(3) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and are tied to the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023. Implementation involves updating administrative processes to incorporate these modifications in determining eligibility for neonatal care pay.
Arguments Against
Administrative Complexity: Implementing these regulations may add to administrative complexity for employers and government agencies tasked with processing benefit claims, potentially requiring the development of new procedures and systems.
Potential for Fraud: Extending eligibility to individuals working abroad could potentially increase the risk of fraud or abuse of the system if proper verification protocols are not in place.
Unintended Consequences: Unforeseen circumstances or challenges could arise from extending the scope of benefits to a broader population of workers in diverse settings.
Financial Implications: Expanding benefits coverage to individuals who were previously excluded incurs additional governmental expenditure which requires careful financial planning and may impact other areas of social security spending.
The Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the Treasury, makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 171ZZ23 and 171ZZ24(3) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992. This instrument contains only regulations made by virtue of, or consequential upon, the Schedule to the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 and is made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into force of that Act.
The Secretary of State, with the Treasury's approval, created these regulations using powers granted by the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.
These regulations are directly linked to and were created within six months of the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 taking effect.
These Regulations may be cited as the Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations 2025. These Regulations come into force on 6 April 2025. These Regulations extend to England and Wales and Scotland.
The official name for these regulations is the Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations 2025.
They became law on April 6, 2025, and apply to England, Wales, and Scotland.
In these Regulations— “the Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992; “foreign-going ship” means any ship or vessel which is not a home-trade ship; “general regulations” means the Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (General) Regulations 2025; “home-trade ship” includes— every ship or vessel employed in trading or going within the following limits— (i)the United Kingdom (including for this purpose the Republic of Ireland), (ii)the Channel Islands, (iii)the Isle of Man, and (iv)the continent of Europe between the river Elbe and Brest inclusive; every fishing vessel not proceeding beyond the following limits— (i)on the South, Latitude 48°30′N, (ii)on the West, Longitude 12°W, and (iii)on the North, Latitude 61°N; “mariner” means a person who is or has been in employment under a contract of service either as a master or member of the crew of any ship or vessel, or in any other capacity on board any ship or vessel where— (a)the employment in that other capacity is for the purposes of that ship or vessel or its crew or any passengers or cargo or mails carried by the ship or vessel, and (b)the contract is entered into in the United Kingdom with a view to its performance (in whole or in part) while the ship or vessel is on its voyage, but does not include a person insofar as their employment is as a serving member of HM’s forces; “serving member of HM’s forces” means a member of a regular force or reserve force (“M”) as defined, in each case, by section 374 (definitions applying for purposes of the whole Act) of the Armed Forces Act 2006, unless— (a)M is under the age of 16, (b)M is committing an offence under section 8 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (desertion), (c)the force concerned is one of His Majesty’s (“HM’s”) naval forces which M locally entered at an overseas base without previously being— (i)an insured person under the National Insurance Act 1965, or (ii)a contributor under the Act, or (d)the force concerned is one of HM’s military forces or HM’s air forces which M entered, or was recruited for, outside the United Kingdom and— (i)where that force is one of HM’s military forces, the depot for M’s unit is outside the United Kingdom, or (ii)where that force is one of HM’s air forces, M is liable under the terms of M’s engagement to serve only in a specified area outside the United Kingdom; “statutory neonatal care pay” means statutory neonatal care pay payable in accordance with the provisions of Part 12ZE of the Act where the conditions specified in section 171ZZ16(2) of the Act are satisfied. For the purposes of these Regulations, the expressions “ship” and “ship or vessel” include hovercraft, except in regulation 9(2).
This section defines key terms used throughout the regulations. "The Act" refers to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.
Specific definitions are provided for "foreign-going ship," "home-trade ship" (including geographical limitations), "mariner" (with exclusions for serving military members), "serving member of HM's forces" (with various exceptions), and "statutory neonatal care pay." The terms "ship" and "ship or vessel" also include hovercrafts, except under specific circumstances outlined in regulation 9(2).
These Regulations apply in relation to children who are born on or after 6th April 2025.
These regulations apply to children born on or after April 6, 2025.
A person who would not be treated under regulation 14 (treatment of persons as employees) of the general regulations as an employee for the purposes of Part 12ZE (statutory neonatal care pay) of the Act if that person’s employment were in Great Britain will not be treated as an employee under these Regulations.
Individuals who wouldn't be considered employees under the general regulations for statutory neonatal care pay if working in Great Britain, are also not considered employees under these regulations.
A person who is— gainfully employed in an EEA state in such circumstances that, if the employment were in Great Britain, the person would be an employee for the purposes of Part 12ZE of the Act, or a person treated as such an employee under regulation 14 of the general regulations, and subject to the legislation of the United Kingdom under (i)Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security systems to employed persons and their families moving within the Community, or (ii)Regulation (EC) 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004, on the coordination of social security systems as those instruments apply in the European Economic Area from time to time, notwithstanding that person not being employed in Great Britain, is to be treated as an employee for the purposes of Part 12ZE of the Act.
People employed in an EEA state under UK social security legislation (as defined by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 or Regulation (EC) 883/2004), and who would be considered employees under Part 12ZE if employed in Great Britain, are treated as employees under Part 12ZE, even if not employed in Great Britain.
Subject to regulation 9(2), where a person, while absent from Great Britain for any purpose, is gainfully employed by an employer who is liable to pay secondary Class 1 contributions (within the meaning of section 1(2) of the Act) in respect of that person’s employment under section 6 of the Act or regulation 146 of the Social Security Contributions Regulations 2001, that person will be treated as an employee for the purposes of Part 12ZE of the Act.
Individuals temporarily outside Great Britain but employed by an employer liable for their secondary Class 1 national insurance contributions are treated as employees for Part 12ZE purposes (subject to regulation 9(2)).
A person who— is an employee or treated as an employee under regulation 5, in the relevant week, was in employed earner’s employment with an employer in Great Britain, and had, in any week within the period of 26 weeks ending with the relevant week, been employed by the same employer in an EEA state, is to be treated for the purposes of section 171ZZ16 of the Act (entitlement to statutory neonatal care pay) as having been employed in employed earner’s employment with an employer in those weeks in which the person was so employed in the EEA state. In paragraph (1), “relevant week” has the same meaning as in section 171ZZ16(6) of the Act.
For statutory neonatal care pay eligibility, individuals meeting specific criteria are considered to have been employed in Great Britain during periods they worked in an EEA state for the same employer within the 26 weeks preceding the relevant week. 'Relevant week' maintains the definition from section 171ZZ16(6) of the Act.
Where— a person is outside the United Kingdom, Part 12ZE of the Act or regulations made under it require any act to be done forthwith or on the happening of a certain event or within a specified time, and because the person is outside the United Kingdom that person or that person’s employer cannot comply with the requirement, the person or the employer, as the case may be, will be deemed to have complied with the requirement if the act is performed as soon as reasonably practicable.
If an individual is outside the UK and unable to meet a deadline for Part 12ZE requirements because of their location, compliance is deemed met if the action is taken as soon as reasonably possible.
A mariner engaged in employment on board a home-trade ship with an employer who has a place of business within the United Kingdom will be treated as an employee for the purposes of Part 12ZE of the Act, notwithstanding that the mariner may not be employed in Great Britain. A mariner who is engaged in employment— on a foreign-going ship, or on a home-trade ship with an employer who does not have a place of business within the United Kingdom, will not be treated as an employee for the purposes of Part 12ZE of the Act, notwithstanding that the mariner may have been employed in Great Britain.
Mariners working on home-trade ships with UK-based employers are considered employees under Part 12ZE, regardless of their location.
However, mariners on foreign-going ships, or those on home-trade ships with employers not based in the UK, are not considered employees under Part 12ZE, even if they've previously worked in Great Britain.
In this regulation—“designated area” means any area which may from time to time be designated by Order in Council under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 as an area within which the rights of the United Kingdom with respect to the seabed and subsoil and their natural resources may be exercised; “prescribed employment” means any employment (whether under a contract of service or not) in a designated area in connection with continental shelf operations, as defined in section 120(2) of the Act. A person in prescribed employment will be treated as an employee for the purposes of Part 12ZE of the Act notwithstanding that that person may not be employed in Great Britain.
This section defines 'designated area' and 'prescribed employment' relating to the continental shelf.
Individuals involved in 'prescribed employment' are treated as employees under Part 12ZE, regardless of their employment location.
These Regulations relate to the treatment under Part 12ZE of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (“the Act”) of persons abroad, persons who work as mariners and persons who work on the continental shelf. The effect is that certain persons who would otherwise not fulfil the qualifying conditions for entitlement to statutory neonatal care pay because of the nature of their employment or the fact that they are outside the United Kingdom will have an entitlement to such pay. Regulation 4 limits the application of the Regulations to cases where the person would be treated as an employee under Part 12ZE of the Act if the employment were in Great Britain. Regulation 5 provides for a person employed in a State of the European Economic Area but subject to the legislation of the United Kingdom to be treated as an employee for the purposes of Part 12ZE. Regulation 6 provides for a person who is absent from Great Britain but in respect of whom an employer has secondary Class 1 national insurance contribution liability to be treated as an employee for the purposes of the Part 12ZE. Where a person has worked for the same employer both in Great Britain and in a State of the European Economic Area, regulation 7 provides, in specified circumstances, for employment in the Member State to be treated as employed earner’s employment for the purposes of Part 12ZE. Regulation 8 relaxes any time limit imposed by Part 12ZE of the Act or regulations made under it in relation to a person who cannot comply with the time limit because that person is outside the United Kingdom. Regulation 9 treats certain classes of mariners as employees for the purposes of Part 12ZE and regulation 10 makes corresponding provision for persons working on the continental shelf. A separate impact assessment has not been prepared for these Regulations. The Regulations are part of a package of legislative measures and the relevant impact assessment is the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 impact assessment which was published on 23 January 2023. A copy of that impact assessment can be obtained from the Department for Business and Trade, Old Admiralty Building, London, SW1A 2PA.
The explanatory note summarizes the regulations' purpose of expanding statutory neonatal care pay to individuals abroad, mariners, and continental shelf workers.
It outlines how each regulation addresses specific scenarios related to employment location, employer liability, and time limitations.
The note also indicates that a separate impact assessment wasn't created and references the assessment for the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023.