Statutory Sick Pay from day one
Since 6 April 2026, you pay Statutory Sick Pay from the first day an employee is off sick, whatever they earn: £123.25 a week, or 80% of their average weekly earnings if that’s less.
- When it started
- 6 April 2026
- Who it affects
- Every employee, whatever they earn
- Status
- In force
What’s changing
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the least you must pay an employee who’s too ill to work. You can pay more through a company sick pay scheme, but not less. Two things changed on 6 April 2026:
- No waiting days. SSP used to start on the 4th day off sick. Now it’s paid from the first full day.
- No earnings threshold. Staff who earned below a set amount, called the lower earnings limit, used to get no SSP at all. Now they qualify too.
The rate for 2026 to 2027 is £123.25 a week, or 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if that’s less. Average weekly earnings are usually worked out over 8 weeks, and someone who’s been paid for less than 8 weeks still qualifies. SSP is paid for the days they’d normally work, for up to 28 weeks.
A day only counts if they’re off for all of it: if someone works part of a day and then goes home sick, that day doesn’t count.
What it means for a small employer
SSP is now due from the first day of an absence, even a short one, so you need an accurate record of who was off, and when, from day one.
You can set a deadline for staff to tell you they’re off sick. If you don’t set one, they have 7 days. If they tell you late without a good reason, you don’t have to pay SSP for the days they were late.
You can ask for a fit note once someone has been off for more than 7 days in a row, counting days they don’t normally work. You can’t hold back SSP because a fit note arrives late.
An example, with made-up names. Amir works Monday to Friday and earns £400 a week on average. He’s off sick on a Monday and Tuesday. Before 6 April 2026, a 2-day absence got no SSP. Now you pay it for both days: 80% of £400 is £320, more than £123.25, so his rate is £123.25 a week. Jess works 2 shifts a week and earns £100 a week on average. 80% of £100 is £80, less than £123.25, so her SSP is £80 a week.
What to do now
-
Update your sick pay policy
Take out any waiting days or earnings threshold for SSP. Any company sick pay must be at least as much as SSP.
-
Tell staff how to report sickness
Set your deadline and say who they tell. Without a deadline, staff have 7 days.
-
Record every absence from the first day
The dates, and the days the person normally works, so SSP can be worked out.
-
Pay it through payroll
Tell whoever runs your payroll. For part of a week, the gov.uk SSP calculator works out the amount.
-
Give form SSP1 when SSP isn’t due
If someone doesn’t qualify, give them form SSP1 within 7 days of their first day off sick.
How Maravier handles it
- Staff report sickness in the app, by your deadline, and upload a fit note after 7 days.
- We work out SSP and put it in the pay summary we send whoever runs your payroll, each pay period.
- Health details are kept to the minimum and shown only to the people who need them.
- When the SSP rate changes, the new rate switches on the day it starts.
We don’t run payroll or file with HMRC: whoever runs your payroll gets everything that changes pay, including SSP, in that one summary.
Your requests
- Mon 24 to Fri 28 May5 daysApproved
- Fri 13 Aug1 dayWaiting
All names are made up for the demo.
Sources
- Statutory Sick Pay: what you’ll get, gov.uk
- Statutory Sick Pay: employer guide, gov.uk
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, gov.uk
- Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update, gov.uk
- Employment Rights Act 2025, Acas
Checked against the law on 8 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
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