When SSP is due
From 6 April 2026 (Employment Rights Act 2025), Statutory Sick Pay is payable from the first qualifying day of sickness. The old rule — a four-day period of incapacity with three unpaid waiting days — no longer applies, so an employee who is off sick for a single working day can now be due SSP for that day.
The concept of a Period of Incapacity for Work (PIW) matters where an employee has recurring absences. If an employee returns to work and is then absent again within eight weeks, the two absences are linked into a single PIW. Linking still matters for the 28-week maximum: linked absences count towards the same 28-week limit. (Before 6 April 2026 it also decided whether fresh waiting days applied; waiting days have now been abolished.)
Qualifying days are normally the employee's contracted working days, but employers and employees can agree different qualifying day patterns in writing. The most common approach is for qualifying days to mirror contractual working days — so a part-time worker who works Monday, Wednesday and Friday would have three qualifying days per week rather than five. This affects the daily SSP rate (the weekly rate divided by the number of qualifying days).
Just costing a hire? Check if it could cost less — free relief check
The rate and duration
The SSP rate for 2026/27 is £123.25 per week, or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings if that is lower. For most full-time staff it is effectively a flat rate: an employee on £50,000 per year receives the same £123.25 per week in SSP as an employee on £22,000; only lower-paid staff (average earnings under about £154 a week) get the 80% figure instead. SSP is paid for up to 28 weeks in a single PIW. Once the 28-week limit is reached, SSP stops and the employee may apply for Employment and Support Allowance.
For the first seven days of absence, employees can self-certify — they do not need to provide a medical certificate (fit note). From day eight, employers can request a fit note from the employee's GP or other registered clinician. It is good practice to request a fit note for any absence that extends beyond seven days, both to understand the medical position and to start planning for absence management. Some employers also use occupational health referrals for absences beyond two or three weeks.
SSP is paid through payroll in the same way as regular salary. It is subject to income tax and employee NI deductions at the employee's normal rates. Employers are no longer able to reclaim SSP from HMRC — the SSP rebate scheme was abolished in 2014 and the temporary Coronavirus SSP reclaim scheme ended in 2022. The full cost of SSP sits with the employer.
Who does not qualify
From 6 April 2026 there is no lower earnings limit for SSP: employees earning below £129 a week (the NI lower earnings limit) now qualify too, receiving 80% of their average weekly earnings instead of the full £123.25. For part-time workers this is the biggest change — a worker on 8 hours a week at the National Living Wage (about £102 a week) now gets around £81 a week SSP, where previously they got nothing.
Casual workers — those without a regular pattern of work or a contract of employment — may not qualify for SSP if they do not meet the continuity of employment test. Zero-hours workers with irregular work patterns can fall into a grey area. The Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms, which give regular zero-hours workers a right to a guaranteed hours contract, may change how some casual workers are categorised for SSP purposes going forward.
Employees who have already received 28 weeks of SSP and not had a linking break of more than eight weeks do not qualify for further SSP in the same PIW. Employees on certain immigration statuses or who are in legal detention are also excluded. If an employee disputes their SSP entitlement, they can ask HMRC to make a determination — the employer is bound by HMRC's decision.
Handling long-term absence
Once an employee has been absent for four weeks or more, it is reasonable to arrange an occupational health assessment. Occupational health can advise on the nature of the condition, likely return timeline, and any reasonable adjustments that might facilitate a return to work. This information is valuable both for managing the individual case and for protecting the employer against disability discrimination claims if the absence involves a condition that may be a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
Fit notes from week eight onwards give the GP's assessment of whether the employee is fit for work, unfit for work, or may be fit for work with adjustments. From 2022, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and pharmacists can also issue fit notes. Employers are not obliged to accept the adjustments suggested in a fit note but should consider them seriously before declining, as failure to make reasonable adjustments can be a Equality Act exposure.
HMRC's SSP rebate for long-term absence no longer exists. For employers facing extended absence costs, the options are: occupational health-supported rehabilitation, an ill-health retirement process where appropriate, or a capability or medical dismissal following a fair process. Dismissing an employee who is long-term sick without a fair process or without considering all alternatives carries unfair dismissal risk. Take employment law advice before moving to dismissal on health grounds.
Stop doing this by hand — Sage Payroll works out employer NI, pension auto-enrolment, statutory sick and maternity pay and files RTI to HMRC automatically for UK employers. Try Sage Payroll →
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.