Do I get more leave if I have twins or multiples?
The entitlement to leave is per pregnancy, not per baby. If one of your babies spends at least 7 continuous days receiving neonatal care, which starts within 28 days of their birth, you can claim Neonatal Care Leave. If two or more of your babies are receiving hospital care at the same time, you can only claim one week’s leave for every continuous 7-day period that your babies are being treated.
If one of your babies is discharged and another of your babies is admitted for hospital care, you can start accruing leave for that baby too, provided the baby stays in neonatal care for at least 7 continuous days.
Here are some examples of how leave might be accrued in the case of multiple births.
Twins needing neonatal care together
Between day 0 and day 14, twin babies spend 14 full days in hospital care together. In this case, the parents each accrue 2 weeks of Neonatal Care Leave.
Twins needing neonatal care at separate times
Between day 0 and 7, twin 1 spends 7 full days in hospital care and is discharged. Between days 15 and 21, twin 2 spends 14 full days in hospital care and is discharged. In this case, the parents each accrue 3 weeks of Neonatal Care Leave.
Twins needing neonatal care at overlapping times
Between days 0 and 28, twin babies go into neonatal care together. Twin 1 is discharged after 7 days, Twin 2 stays for 28 days. In this case, the parents each accrue 4 weeks of Neonatal Care Leave each.
The way the leave can be taken is broken up into time periods referred to as Tier 1 and Tier 2. When twins or multiples are born, the Tier one period starts when the first baby enters neonatal care and ends when the last child has been discharged from neonatal care for one week. For more information, see When can I take the leave?
The maximum amount of leave that can be taken is 12 weeks, and it must be taken within 68 weeks of the birth of your first child.
