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Set up sick pay and family leave pay

Set what your company pays on top of statutory pay when someone is off sick or on family leave, by length of service.

10 min For HR administrators and payroll officers Your sick pay policy, by length of service Whether it is paid on top of SSP Checked 1 Nov 2026

What you'll need: Your sick pay policy, by length of service, Whether it is paid on top of SSP.

Everyone who is off sick may get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), and parents may get statutory family pay.

More detail

KivoHR works out the days for those. A scheme adds what your company pays on top: full or half pay, for a time that grows with service. GOV.UK: Statutory Sick Pay

Add a pay scheme

  1. Step 1: Go to Settings, Sick pay, and press Add a scheme.

  2. Step 2: Choose the Kind of leave: sickness, or a kind of family leave.

  3. Step 3: Answer What is sick pay counted in?, such as weeks or working days.

  4. Step 4: Under How much pay does each length of service get?, add a row for each step.

  5. Step 5: Answer the questions about SSP and look-back, then press Add the scheme.

Add family leave pay

  1. Step 1: Go to Settings, Family leave pay.

    More detail

    Each kind of family leave has its own tab.

  2. Step 2: Press Add a scheme, and set the weeks of pay for each length of service.

  3. Step 3: Answer Is statutory pay paid on top of this?, then press Add the scheme.

How it reaches payroll

  1. Step 1: When someone is off sick, each day is marked full pay, half pay or SSP only.

  2. Step 2: The days go to payroll in the period's file.

    More detail

    Before you send says when SSP is ending or form SSP1 is due.

Stuck?

Someone is on SSP only, but should get full pay

Check their scheme's service rows. They may not have served long enough, or have used their pay already.

I don't know what to choose for counting back

That's When someone is off sick again, how far back do you count the sick pay they have already had? Choose what your sick pay policy says.

Is SSP paid as well as our sick pay?

That's your choice in Is SSP paid on top of sick pay? Most employers count SSP as part of their sick pay.

It says form SSP1 is due

SSP is ending: their 28 weeks are used up. Give them form SSP1 by the date shown. GOV.UK: SSP1

Was this helpful?

Not legal advice. Checked against the law on 1 November 2026; we check it again by 6 April 2027, and sooner if the law changes.

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