Statutory Sick Pay UK: rates, day-one rules and employer guide (2026/27)

Under the 2026/27 Statutory Sick Pay rules, employers calculate an eligible employee's weekly SSP by comparing 80% of their average weekly earnings (AWE) against the flat statutory cap of £123.25 per week, and paying whichever figure is lower. SSP is paid through normal payroll on usual paydays and is subject to PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions.

Average weekly earnings are normally calculated across the eight-week relevant period immediately before the Period of Incapacity for Work (PIW) begins. Where an employee has been employed for fewer than eight weeks, HMRC provides specific averaging rules based on the pay actually received or contractual earnings to date. Daily SSP rates are worked out by dividing the applicable weekly rate by the number of qualifying days the employee normally works in that week.

Before 6 April 2026, employees had to serve three unpaid waiting days before SSP started on the fourth qualifying day, and anyone earning below the Lower Earnings Limit (£125 per week in 2025/26) was excluded from SSP altogether. Both of those restrictions were abolished from 6 April 2026.

First, waiting days no longer apply to new sickness absences: SSP is payable from the very first full qualifying day an employee is off work sick. Second, part-time, casual, and lower-paid employees who previously earned below the Lower Earnings Limit now qualify for SSP from day one, receiving 80% of their average weekly earnings up to the £123.25 weekly cap.

To qualify for SSP, the person must be classed as an employee for payroll purposes (having an employment contract and having performed some work under it), be incapable of work on a qualifying day, and notify the employer in accordance with reasonable absence reporting rules.

Qualifying days are the days of the week the employee normally works under their contract. Non-working days (such as weekends for a Monday-to-Friday worker, or uncontracted days for a 3-day part-time worker) are not qualifying days and do not attract SSP. Certain statutory exclusions still apply even after the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit.

Your sickness absence policy should tell staff who to contact and by what time on their first day of absence. However, under statutory SSP rules, you cannot withhold SSP for late notification if the employee had a good reason, and you cannot insist that an employee reports sickness in person or on a specific medical form during the first seven days.

For absences of seven calendar days or fewer (counting weekends and non-working days), employees self-certify their illness on return to work. Employers can only require medical evidence, known as a Statement of Fitness for Work (fit note), once an absence lasts more than seven consecutive calendar days. Fit notes can be issued digitally or on paper by doctors, registered nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists.

Where two periods of sickness absence are separated by eight weeks (56 calendar days) or less, they count as linked periods of incapacity for work. Linked spells add together towards the 28-week maximum SSP entitlement. Maintaining accurate absence logs ensures payroll does not accidentally restart the 28-week counter on recurring absences.

When an employee is not entitled to SSP from the start of an absence, or when their 28-week SSP entitlement is coming to an end, the employer must issue form SSP1 so the employee can support a claim for Universal Credit or New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). If SSP ends unexpectedly while the employee is off sick, send form SSP1 within seven days; if you know in advance that the 28-week limit will be reached, issue form SSP1 on or before the beginning of the 23rd week.

Statutory annual leave continues to accrue while an employee is off work on sick leave, and if long-term sickness prevents an employee from taking their four weeks of Regulation 13 leave in the current leave year, they can carry it over for up to 18 months from the end of that leave year. If an employee falls ill during pre-booked annual leave and reports it under your sickness procedure, they can convert those days to sickness absence and rebook the holiday later.

Occupational (company) sick pay is a contractual benefit that tops up SSP, for example paying full basic salary for a set number of days or weeks per year. Any contractual sick pay you pay on a qualifying day counts towards your obligation to pay SSP on that day, so SSP is normally included within company sick pay rather than paid on top unless your contract states otherwise.