Statutory Sick Pay changed materially on 6 April 2026. For employers, the practical risk is no longer just missing a long absence. A single full qualifying day can now create an SSP payment, including for eligible employees whose earnings would previously have been below the lower earnings limit. Policies, manager instructions and payroll rules must all reflect the same current process.
What changed on 6 April 2026?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 removed the three waiting days and the lower earnings limit for Statutory Sick Pay in Great Britain. The changes were brought into force on 6 April 2026. An eligible employee is now entitled from the first full day of sickness absence that would normally have been a working day.
For the 2026/27 tax year, the weekly rate is £123.25 or 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. This is important for lower-paid and variable-hours employees: removing the earnings threshold does not mean everyone receives the full flat rate.
A sickness day must be a full day. If somebody works for any part of the day and then goes home ill, that day does not count for SSP. Record the actual time worked and the first full day missed rather than relying on a manager’s summary.
Employment Rights Act 2025 ↗ · HMRC: April 2026 SSP changes ↗
Decide whether the employee qualifies
Start with status and work performed. GOV.UK says the person must have an employment contract, have completed some work under it, be sick for at least one full working day and provide the required notice and evidence. Some categories—including agency workers, directors and educational workers—have particular calculation rules, so use HMRC’s calculator or specialist payroll guidance where the pattern is not straightforward.
SSP is paid for qualifying days: the days the employee normally works. For a regular Monday-to-Friday worker, those days are usually obvious. For irregular patterns, record the agreed qualifying days before calculating the amount. Payroll also needs the employee’s relevant average weekly earnings, normally calculated over the eight-week period set by the rules.
An employee can qualify in more than one job and may be unfit for one role while remaining fit for another. Avoid treating activity elsewhere as automatic evidence of dishonesty; compare the duties and medical position before deciding whether there is a conduct issue.
GOV.UK: SSP entitlement ↗ · GOV.UK: SSP calculator ↗ · Related guide: managing disclosed health conditions →
Set clear notice and evidence rules
Tell employees how and when to report sickness, who to contact and what information the manager needs. If the employer has not set a notification deadline, the statutory default is seven days. The employer cannot insist that notice is given in person or on a special form.
A fit note can only be required after more than seven consecutive calendar days of sickness, including non-working days. It may be issued by a doctor, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist. A late fit note is not, by itself, a lawful reason to withhold SSP.
Keep the pay question separate from attendance support. A fit note may suggest adjustments or a phased return; that should trigger a practical discussion rather than an automatic decision that the employee must remain absent until the note expires.
GOV.UK: notice and fit notes ↗ · Related guide: fit notes at work →
Align managers, HR and payroll.
HR + SAFETY can help North East SMEs update sickness policies, reporting steps and payroll handovers around the current SSP rules.
Discuss SSP and absence supportTrack linked absences and the 28-week limit
Separate absences may link for SSP purposes when each includes at least one full working day of sickness and the gap is eight weeks or less. Linked periods affect the earnings calculation and the remaining entitlement, so managers should not create a fresh payroll case without checking the previous absence history.
SSP is available for up to 28 weeks. If entitlement is expected to end while the employee remains sick, the employer must provide form SSP1 on or before the beginning of the 23rd week. If SSP ends unexpectedly, SSP1 is due within seven days. Where the employee does not qualify at all, it must normally be sent within seven days of the first day off sick.
SSP is a statutory payment calculation, not a capability decision. Long-term absence may also require contact arrangements, medical evidence, reasonable-adjustment consideration and a fair capability process. Do not allow the 28-week pay limit to become an automatic dismissal date.
GOV.UK: eligibility, linked periods and SSP1 ↗ · Related guide: occupational health referrals → · Related guide: ill-health capability →
Keep company sick pay, holiday and pregnancy rules separate
A contractual sick-pay scheme can provide more than SSP, but the written terms and payroll treatment must remain clear. State whether company sick pay includes SSP, when enhanced pay starts and ends, and what happens where reporting rules are not followed. Do not use an outdated policy that still describes three waiting days as the statutory rule.
Statutory holiday continues to accrue during sickness and an employee may take annual leave while sick. Employers cannot force an employee to use annual leave instead of SSP simply to reduce sickness cost. Pregnancy-related sickness also needs separate handling, including the special maternity-leave trigger close to the expected week of childbirth.
Related guide: holiday entitlement during sickness → · Related guide: pregnancy-related sickness →
Statutory Sick Pay employer checklist
Legal requirements and official guidance were checked on 30 October 2026. The strongest process gives managers one reporting route and gives payroll the dates, qualifying days, earnings and previous absence history needed to make the right payment first time.
- Remove waiting-day and lower-earnings-limit wording from current policies.
- Record the first full qualifying day rather than the time somebody left mid-shift.
- Confirm normal or agreed qualifying days for irregular work patterns.
- Calculate the lower of £123.25 and 80% of average weekly earnings.
- Apply the correct eight-week earnings period or use HMRC’s calculator.
- Give employees a clear reporting route without insisting on a special form.
- Do not require a fit note during the first seven calendar days.
- Check whether separate absences link where the gap is eight weeks or less.
- Track the 28-week maximum across linked periods.
- Issue SSP1 within the applicable deadline.
- Keep contractual sick pay, holiday, pregnancy and capability decisions distinct.
- Retain enough payroll and absence evidence to explain the calculation if challenged.
SSP now begins with the first full qualifying day. Update the policy, capture accurate absence and earnings data, calculate the lower current rate, track linked periods and issue SSP1 on time.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.