Statutory Sick Pay from April 2026: what changed.

Two things, both from the Employment Rights Act 2025 (sections 10 and 11 for Great Britain, 12 and 13 for Northern Ireland), in force from 6 April 2026:

• No waiting days. SSP used to start on the fourth day of sickness. Now it is paid from the first qualifying day, and one full day off sick is enough.
• No lower earnings limit. Before, someone earning under the limit got no SSP at all. Now everyone who qualifies gets it, at £123.25 a week or 80% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Someone who was already off sick across 5 and 6 April 2026 is covered by transitional rules in the commencement regulations: their days from 6 April are paid without waiting days. Someone who got no SSP because they earned below the old limit starts a new entitlement from their first day off sick on or after 6 April 2026, unless they had been off continuously since 21 September 2025 or earlier.

An employee qualifies if they have an employment contract, have done some work under it, and are sick for at least one full working day. There is no earnings test any more.

They don’t get SSP if, for example, they have already had the most SSP (28 weeks), they are getting Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance, they were in custody or on strike on the first day of sickness, or their sickness is pregnancy-related in the 4 weeks before the week their baby is due. GOV.UK lists every exception.

SSP is £123.25 a week or 80% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Average weekly earnings are usually worked out over the 8 weeks before the sickness began.

It is paid only for qualifying days, the days they normally work, and for up to 28 weeks. Two spells of sickness 8 weeks or less apart count as one, so SSP already paid in the first counts towards the 28 weeks.

Our free SSP calculator works it out from the dates, their working days and their pay, and shows the working.

Employees should tell you they are sick within the time limit you set, or within 7 days if you haven’t set one. You can’t insist they tell you in person or on a special form.

You can ask for a fit note only when they have been off for more than 7 days in a row, counting days they don’t work. A GP or hospital doctor, a registered nurse, an occupational therapist, a pharmacist or a physiotherapist can issue one.

Send the employee form SSP1:

• within 7 days of their first day off sick, if they don’t qualify for SSP;
• by the start of the 23rd week, if SSP will end before their sickness does;
• within 7 days of SSP ending, if it ends unexpectedly while they are still sick.

• Take waiting days and the lower earnings limit out of your sickness policy and contracts.
• Check your payroll pays SSP from the first qualifying day, and applies the 80% rule to low earners.
• Tell managers that one day off sick now counts.