Statutory sick pay & other statutory payments: Employer guide
Manage SSP confidently, from eligibility rules to payroll processing.
Written by Ebony-Storm Halladay — Freelance accounting copywriter, 10 years. Read Ebony's full bio
Published Thursday 2 July 2026
Table of contents
Key takeaways
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is a legal requirement for UK employers. From April 2026, it's payable from day one of sickness, with no waiting days and no minimum earnings threshold.
- The current SSP rate for 2026/27 is £123.25 per week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. You pay it through PAYE for up to 28 weeks.
- You process SSP through your payroll system, deducting tax and National Insurance as you would with normal wages. After seven days of illness, you should request a fit note from a health professional.
- Keeping track of sick leave, fit notes, and SSP calculations is simpler with Xero's payroll software, which handles them automatically.
What is Statutory Sick Pay?
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is a weekly payment that UK employers must pay to eligible employees who are too ill to work. It provides a guaranteed minimum income so staff can take time off to recover without losing all their pay.
The current rate is £123.25 per week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Employers pay SSP for up to 28 weeks through PAYE. From 6 April 2026, SSP is payable from the first day of sickness, and there's no minimum earnings requirement for eligibility.
What changed with SSP in April 2026?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced significant changes to SSP from 6 April 2026. These reforms expanded eligibility and simplified the process for employers and employees alike.
Here are the three main changes you need to know about:
- Waiting days removed: SSP is now payable from day one of an employee's sickness. Previously, employees had to wait three qualifying days before SSP started.
- Earnings threshold abolished: All employees now qualify for SSP regardless of how much they earn. The previous lower earnings limit of £125 per week no longer applies.
- New rate calculation: SSP is now £123.25 per week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. This means lower-paid employees may receive less than the flat rate, while others receive the full £123.25.
These changes mean more employees are covered from the start of their illness. If you have staff whose sickness absence started before 6 April 2026 and continued after that date, the old rules still apply to that particular absence.
Who qualifies for Statutory Sick Pay?
Employers must pay SSP to employees who are too ill to work. Since April 2026, the eligibility criteria are straightforward. Employees must:
- be classed as an employee and have done some work under their contract
- be off sick for at least one qualifying day
- notify you of their sickness within any deadline you've set, or within seven days if you haven't set one
Agency workers and people on zero-hours contracts can also receive SSP, provided they're classed as employees with National Insurance and Income Tax deducted by you.
What are qualifying days?
Qualifying days are the days your employees usually work. If your employee doesn't have regular working days, you need to agree which ones will count as qualifying days.
If you can't agree, you can use working days referred to in the employment contract, a Wednesday, or every day of the week except those where no one in the business works.
What evidence do employers need for SSP?
For the first seven days of sickness, including non-working days, employees can self-certify their absence. After seven consecutive days, they must provide a fit note (sometimes called a sick note).
The note must come from a GP or hospital doctor, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist, or physiotherapist. If your employee agrees it with you first, they might also provide proof of sickness through an Allied Health Professional Health and Work Report from a physiotherapist, podiatrist, or occupational therapist.
What if staff aren't eligible for SSP?
Staff members who don't meet the eligibility criteria, or who have used up their 28 weeks of entitlement, might be able to apply for Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance. To apply for either of these, they can use the SSP1 form.
As an employer, it's your responsibility to give staff members whose sick pay is ending an SSP1 form. According to GOV.UK employer guidance, you must issue it either:
- within seven days of SSP ending, if it ends unexpectedly while your employee is still sick
- on or before the beginning of the 23rd week of SSP, if the pay is expected to end before the employee's illness does
If an employee isn't eligible for SSP, you need to give them the SSP1 form within seven days of their first sick day.
How much is Statutory Sick Pay and how long is it paid?
Employees can receive up to 28 weeks of SSP. The rate for 2026/27 is £123.25 per week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. You pay it through PAYE as you would an employee's wages, and SSP is subject to tax and National Insurance.
You stop paying SSP when the employee returns to work, their contract ends, or they reach the 28-week limit.
The easiest way to work out how much sick pay an employee should receive is to use the HMRC SSP calculator, or payroll software that works it out for you. You can also use the UK government's daily rates of sick pay to calculate it manually. For example:
Rachel works five days a week, Monday to Friday. She takes her first sick day on Tuesday. Because SSP is now payable from day one, she qualifies for sick pay straight away. The calculation for her daily rate is:
- £123.25 / 5 = £24.65 per day
Rachel is sick for four qualifying days (Tuesday to Friday), so she receives £98.60 SSP for that week.
SSP rules for part-time hours
SSP isn't proportional, which means part-time workers have their sick pay calculated in the same way as full-time workers. The same £123.25 is divided by qualifying (working) days. For example:
Jorge works three days a week, Monday to Wednesday. He falls ill and takes a full week off. Because SSP starts from day one, the calculation for his sick pay is:
- £123.25 / 3 = £41.08 per day
- £41.08 x 3 = £123.25
Jorge gets the full week's worth of sick pay, £123.25, since all three of his working days are spent off work.
What about linked days?
Regular bouts of sickness count as linked periods if they're eight or fewer weeks apart. A series of linked periods lasting more than three years makes an employee ineligible for SSP. You also stop paying SSP if an employee has already received 28 weeks in a previous linked period.
How occupational sick pay interacts with SSP
Occupational sick pay is also known as company or contractual sick pay. It's an additional provision from you, the employer.
If you offer occupational sick pay at a rate greater than SSP, you only pay the occupational sick pay. If SSP is greater than the occupational sick pay, you pay SSP to the employee instead.
How to process SSP in payroll
The specific steps for processing sick pay will depend on your payroll software. Here's a straightforward process to follow.
1. Collect information before you pay SSP
Make sure you have the correct dates for your employee's sick leave, including their first sick day and qualifying days. For absences of seven days or fewer, a self-certification form is sufficient. For longer absences, you should have a copy of their fit note or Allied Health Professional report.
Confirm that the employee is classed as an employee under their contract and has done some work for you.
2. Calculate SSP and check restrictions
You can use an SSP calculator to confirm the amount, or let your payroll software handle it automatically.
Check for linked periods. If an employee has had multiple periods of sick leave less than eight weeks apart, the periods are linked. If they have linked periods totalling more than three years, they're no longer eligible for SSP.
3. Pay SSP
Pay the employee's sick pay as you would their salary, on the normal payday, itemised separately on the payslip. If the employee provides further medical evidence that means you need to backdate or correct the records, make sure you update your payroll system.
4. Keep SSP records
Maintain records of employee sickness, sick pay amounts, and evidence including fit notes, as you would other payroll records. If you need to issue an SSP1 form, keep a copy of this too. There's no set format for SSP records, but you should hold onto them for at least three years after the end of the tax year they relate to.
How SSP works with holiday and other leave
Sometimes holiday and sickness overlap. Here's what you should do if that happens with your employees.
How holiday pay works during sickness
If an employee is off sick, they can choose to take annual leave. They might be physically unable to do their job but still able to take a holiday, or a break could aid their recovery.
If an employee requests holiday while sick and you approve the request, SSP pauses for the duration of the holiday. They'll receive holiday pay instead. Sick pay resumes if they return from holiday and are still unwell.
Equally, if an employee takes a holiday but becomes sick, provided they've notified you, they can get SSP for the period they're unwell. They can then reserve the remaining holiday entitlement for another time.
What happens if sickness overlaps with maternity?
Employees can't receive SSP while on maternity leave.
If sickness is due to pregnancy, the employee can claim SSP up until four weeks before the baby is due. Going off sick during this period will also trigger their maternity leave and pay. If the sickness is unrelated to pregnancy, sick pay can be claimed until the week the baby is due, or the date maternity pay is due to begin.
The amount of maternity pay the employee is entitled to can be affected by their illness. Maternity pay is based on an eight-week qualifying period during pregnancy. If an employee receives sick pay that's lower than their usual pay during this time, their maternity pay entitlement will be lower too.
How SSP applies to zero-hours and agency workers
If you hire people on zero-hours contracts or use agency workers, and they're classed as employees, they're entitled to SSP from day one of sickness.
For zero-hours contract workers, three months of continuous employment with you entitles them to SSP in the same way as a permanent employee. Continuous employment means an individual works for you without breaks, not counting annual leave, sick pay, and other statutory leave.
If someone on a zero-hours contract hasn't had three months of continuous employment, SSP continues until the agreed work period or assignment ends. Employed agency workers can access SSP for the duration of their contracts.
Other statutory payments employers must pay
As an employer, there are other types of statutory pay you must give employees. These include:
If you run a small business, you may be entitled to small employers' relief, where you can claim back the full cost (plus extra) of certain statutory pay types.
Make Statutory Sick Pay simple with Xero
Knowing when your staff are sick, entitled to pay, or need further support is an important part of being an employer. But when you're busy with the day-to-day running of a business, keeping tabs on specific dates and entitlements can be tricky.
With cloud-based payroll software like Xero payroll, managing statutory pay and monitoring sick leave is simple. You can add sick leave for individual employees in Xero payroll, and it will tell you if they're eligible for SSP. The SSP is automatically calculated, so you don't need to do the maths yourself.
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FAQs on Statutory Sick Pay for employers
Here are answers to some common questions about SSP for employers.
Who pays Statutory Sick Pay?
Employers pay SSP directly to employees through their payroll. You can't reclaim SSP from the government.
Do employers have to pay SSP to staff on probation?
Yes. As long as the staff member is classed as an employee and has done some work under their contract, they're entitled to SSP from their first day of sickness.
Do directors qualify for SSP?
Yes, provided they meet the standard eligibility criteria. Calculating average weekly earnings can be more complex for directors who are paid in different ways, so it's worth checking the HMRC guidance on director SSP.
Do part-time employees get the same SSP rate?
Yes. SSP isn't proportional, so the weekly rate of £123.25 (or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower) is divided equally across qualifying days, regardless of whether an employee works full-time or part-time.
What happens when SSP runs out?
After 28 weeks, SSP ends. You must issue an SSP1 form so the employee can apply for Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance.
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