Statutory Sick Pay 2026: the complete employer guide

What changed on 6 April 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 made the biggest changes to Statutory Sick Pay since the scheme was introduced. Three things changed on the same day:

Each of these has different practical consequences. Day-one SSP means short absences that previously cost employers nothing now have a payroll cost attached. Removing the Lower Earnings Limit brought roughly 1.3 million extra workers into the scheme - mostly part-timers and lower-paid staff. The new 80% calculation slightly reduces SSP for some workers earning between £125 and £154.05 per week (those workers may be transitionally protected if they were already on SSP on 6 April 2026).

Who qualifies for SSP under the new rules

Under the post-April 2026 rules, a worker qualifies for SSP if they meet three conditions:

1. They have done some work for the employer. Even a few hours under contract is enough. A new starter who has begun work but not yet been paid can still qualify.
2. They have notified the employer of their sickness within any deadline the employer has set, or within 7 days if no deadline is set. Employers cannot insist on notification by a particular method (such as a phone call to a manager) if that requirement is unreasonable.
3. They are classed as employed for tax purposes. This covers everyone paid through PAYE - employees, agency workers, and most casual or zero-hours staff. Workers paying their own tax through self-assessment are not eligible.

The big change is what is no longer required. Two long-standing eligibility tests were removed on 6 April 2026:

Who is still excluded

A few groups are still outside SSP:

• Self-employed workers who pay their own tax through self-assessment.
• Workers receiving Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance during the 39-week maternity pay period.
• Workers who have already received the maximum 28 weeks of SSP in any one period of sickness, or in a series of linked periods.
• Workers whose continuous sickness started on or before 21 September 2025 and had already run for 28 weeks by 6 April 2026 - no new SSP entitlement arises in these cases.
• Workers who received Employment and Support Allowance in the 85 days before their sickness began.

How to calculate SSP under the new rules

From 6 April 2026, weekly SSP is the lower of two figures: the statutory flat rate or 80% of the worker's average weekly earnings.

For most workers, the flat £123.25 rate will be the lower of the two and will apply. The 80% rule only changes the figure for workers earning roughly £154.06 per week or less (because 80% of £154.06 is £123.25). Above that threshold, the cap kicks in and SSP stays at £123.25.

Calculating Average Weekly Earnings (AWE)

AWE is calculated over the 8 weeks of pay before the sickness absence began. Specifically:

• Add up all gross earnings on which Class 1 National Insurance was due (or would have been due if the worker earned enough) over the relevant 8-week period.
• Divide by 8 to get the weekly average.
• For monthly-paid workers, the relevant period is typically the 2 monthly pay periods before sickness began.
• For workers who have not yet had 8 weeks of pay, use whatever pay periods exist - if necessary, just one.

Daily rates and qualifying days

SSP is paid for "qualifying days" only - days the worker would normally have worked. Saturdays and Sundays are not qualifying days for a Monday-Friday worker. Bank holidays are qualifying days only if the worker would normally have worked them.

To get the daily SSP rate, divide the weekly SSP figure by the number of qualifying days in that week.

For workers without a regular pattern - irregular hours, zero-hours, casual workers - the employer should agree which days count as qualifying days. The Acas guidance recommends agreeing this in advance and recording it, because disputes about which days "should have been worked" are a common source of SSP underpayments.

Worked examples

Four scenarios that cover the most common situations employers face under the new rules:

Example 1: full-time worker, standard absence

Sam works Monday to Friday and earns £600 per week. He is off sick from Wednesday to Friday one week (3 qualifying days).

• 80% of AWE = £480, which exceeds the £123.25 cap.
• Weekly SSP = £123.25 (the flat rate cap applies).
• Daily SSP = £123.25 ÷ 5 qualifying days = £24.65.
• Total SSP for the absence = £24.65 × 3 days = £73.95.

Under the old rules, Sam would have received nothing - the first 3 days were unpaid waiting days. Under the new rules he gets the full £73.95 from day one.

Example 2: lower-paid part-time worker

Priya works 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and earns £135 per week. She is off sick all week.

• 80% of AWE = £108.00, which is lower than the £123.25 cap.
• Weekly SSP = £108.00 (the 80% rule applies).
• Daily SSP = £108.00 ÷ 3 qualifying days = £36.00.
• Total SSP for the absence = £36.00 × 3 days = £108.00.

Under the old rules Priya would have received SSP at £24.65 per day for just the qualifying days after the 3 waiting days - which she may not have completed in a single working week. The new rules give her predictable, full-week pay.

Example 3: previously excluded low earner

Jamal works 2 evenings a week and earns £95 per week. Under the old rules he was below the £125 LEL and not eligible for any SSP. He is off sick for one shift.

• 80% of AWE = £76.00, which is lower than the cap.
• Weekly SSP = £76.00.
• Daily SSP = £76.00 ÷ 2 qualifying days = £38.00.
• Total SSP for the missed shift = £38.00.

Jamal would have received zero under the old rules. He is one of the 1.3 million workers brought into SSP for the first time on 6 April 2026.

Example 4: zero-hours worker

Lena is on a zero-hours contract. Her shifts vary but over the last 8 weeks she earned £1,080 in total. She is rostered for 4 shifts the week she falls ill and misses all of them.

• AWE = £1,080 ÷ 8 = £135.00.
• 80% of AWE = £108.00, lower than the cap.
• Weekly SSP = £108.00.
• Daily SSP = £108.00 ÷ 4 qualifying days = £27.00.
• Total SSP for the 4 missed shifts = £27.00 × 4 = £108.00.

Zero-hours workers were a key target of the reforms. The employer should agree in advance which scheduled shifts count as qualifying days, and record this on the absence record at the time.

Linked periods of sickness

Two or more periods of sickness 8 weeks apart or less are treated as linked for SSP purposes. The 28-week maximum runs across the linked period as a whole, so an employee who has had 12 weeks of SSP, returns to work for 6 weeks, then falls ill again has 16 weeks of entitlement remaining.

One important detail under the new rules: in a linked period of sickness, the AWE figure from the original period continues to apply to subsequent absences in the link. The employer does not recalculate AWE each time the employee returns to work and falls ill again within 8 weeks.

Transitional protection for existing absences

Some employees were already on SSP on 6 April 2026 when the rules changed. The Department for Work and Pensions transitional guidance, updated 9 March 2026, sets out how those cases should be handled. The headline rule is that no employee should be financially worse off because of the rule change while their continuous absence runs.

Workers earning between £125 and £154.05 per week

This is the only group at risk of receiving less under the new 80% calculation than under the old flat rate. To prevent that, transitional protection keeps them on the flat rate (uprated to £123.25) for the rest of their continuous absence. Protection ends when:

• they return to work,
• they reach the 28-week SSP maximum,
• their employment ends, or
• they begin receiving Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance.

If a transitionally protected worker returns to work and then falls ill again within 8 weeks, the new 80% rule applies to the second period - the protection only covers the original continuous absence.

Workers below the old £125 LEL

These workers received nothing under the old rules. From 6 April 2026 they receive 80% of AWE for any qualifying day from that date onwards, even if their absence began before 6 April. The Acas example: Ash earns £110 per week and is off sick on 4, 5 and 6 April. The first two days fall before the law change, so Ash gets nothing for those. From 6 April onwards, Ash receives SSP for any qualifying day at 80% of AWE.

Long-running absences (28-week cap)

If a worker's continuous absence began on or before 21 September 2025 and they had already received 28 weeks of SSP by 6 April 2026, no new SSP entitlement arises - the cap was reached under the old rules and the new rules do not reset it.

Fit notes and self-certification

The fit note rules did not change on 6 April 2026. Workers can self-certify for the first 7 calendar days of any absence, including non-working days. From day 8 onwards, the employer can require a fit note from a registered healthcare professional - GP, hospital doctor, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist.

The day-one SSP rule does not change the 7-day self-certification period. An employer cannot demand a fit note for a 1- or 2-day absence as a condition of paying SSP. Doing so would be unlawful.

Enforcement and the Fair Work Agency

Until 6 April 2026, an employee who believed they had been underpaid SSP could refer the issue to HMRC's Statutory Payment Dispute Team. That route still exists. But from 6 April 2026 the new Fair Work Agency took on enforcement powers over SSP as well.

The Fair Work Agency can investigate underpayments, issue notices of underpayment, and impose penalties. Underpayments carry penalties of up to 200% of the underpaid amount, capped at £20,000 per worker, with up to six years of back liability. Employers can also be publicly named as part of enforcement action.

Practically, this means small administrative errors in SSP calculation - missed eligibility, wrong AWE, late SSP1 forms - now carry meaningful financial and reputational risk where previously they might have been quietly corrected.

What employers need to update now

If you have not already worked through these changes, the priority items are below. Most can be done in an afternoon for a small employer.

For a full leave policy refresh that incorporates the new SSP rules alongside annual leave, parental leave and other statutory entitlements, our guide to writing a UK company leave policy includes a free downloadable template.

Common mistakes to avoid

Five errors that come up regularly under the new rules:

1. Still applying waiting days. The biggest single error. Payroll teams used to the 3-day rule sometimes continue to apply it out of habit. From 6 April 2026 there are no waiting days. Every qualifying day of sickness is paid.
2. Wrong AWE calculation for lower earners. The 80% rule only changes the SSP figure for workers with AWE of roughly £154.06 or less. Higher earners still get the £123.25 cap. Don't apply the 80% calculation to mid- or high-earning staff.
3. Late or missing SSP1 forms. If a worker is not eligible (or runs out of SSP), the employer must issue form SSP1 in writing. Late SSP1s are now a Fair Work Agency enforcement target.
4. Demanding a fit note for short absences. Workers can self-certify for the first 7 calendar days. Refusing SSP because the worker has not produced a fit note for a 2- or 3-day absence is unlawful.
5. Not recording qualifying days for irregular workers. Without an agreed record of which days count, SSP cannot be calculated reliably and disputes are likely. Agree the position at the start of the contract, not when sickness occurs.

If your sickness absence policy needs updating alongside other leave types, see our broader guide to UK leave entitlement and our new starters guide - both cover the day-one rights that came in alongside SSP.