GOV.UK’s sick pay calculator works on one period of sickness at a time. Real absence records are messier: a migraine in March, flu in April, a back problem in June. Whether those absences are separate or “linked” changes how much SSP is due, and since 6 April 2026 the answer comes out “linked” far more often.
The two definitions that matter
Period of incapacity for work (PIW). Section 152(2) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, as substituted from 6 April 2026, defines it as “a period of one day which is, or of two or more consecutive days each of which is,” a day of incapacity for work. Until 5 April 2026 it had to be four or more consecutive days. Every calendar day counts — weekends, rest days and bank holidays — if the employee was unwell on it.
Linking. Section 152(3): “Any two periods of incapacity for work which are separated by a period of not more than 8 weeks shall be treated as a single period of incapacity for work.” Eight weeks is 56 days.
How to count the gap
Count the days strictly between the last day of the first absence and the first day of the next.
| First absence ends | Next absence starts | Days between | Linked? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 2 June 2026 | Wed 29 July 2026 | 56 | Yes |
| Tue 2 June 2026 | Thu 30 July 2026 | 57 | No |
| Fri 6 Feb 2026 | Thu 2 Apr 2026 | 54 | Yes |
| Fri 10 Apr 2026 | Mon 18 May 2026 | 37 | Yes |
Linking chains: if absence B links to A and C links to B, all three are one series even if C is months after A. That is why a series can grow long — and why the law caps it at three years (regulation 3(3) of the SSP (General) Regulations 1982).
What a linked series shares
- One 28-week maximum. Section 155 limits SSP in any one period of entitlement to 28 times the weekly rate. In practice that is 28 weeks of qualifying days.
- One rate. GOV.UK’s manual calculation guidance says entitlement is decided at the first day of the first PIW and the rate stays the same across the linked period, even if earnings change. Uprating each April still applies.
- Waiting days once (old rules only). Before 6 April 2026 the three waiting days were served once per series. A linked absence did not serve them again.
A worked series
A Monday-to-Friday employee earning £410 a week:
- 2–6 February 2026 (5 days). A PIW under the old rules. Waiting days Monday to Wednesday; Thursday and Friday paid at £23.75 a day (£118.75 ÷ 5).
- 12–13 March 2026 (2 days). Before 6 April, two days is not a PIW. Nothing is paid and it does not link anything.
- 2–10 April 2026. Starts 54 days after 6 February, so it links. No new waiting days. Thursday 2 and Friday 3 April are paid at £23.75; from Monday 6 April the new rate applies and the full week pays £123.25.
- 18 May 2026 (1 day). Under the new rules a one-day PIW. It is 37 days after 10 April, so it links, and pays £24.65.
Total: £242.90 over 10 paid days, all from one 28-week allowance. Load this example in the calculator below with the “Load a worked example” button, or enter your own absences.
Gross pay over the 8 weeks before the first linked absence, divided into weeks. Leave blank if it is clearly over £154.07.
Sickness absences
Enter every absence, however short, including weekends and days off inside it. From 6 April 2026 even one day counts and can link to a later absence.
Short absences after April 2026
The practical effect of the one-day rule is that linking now catches patterns of short absences. An employee off one day every six weeks is in one continuous linked series. That matters for two reasons:
- The 28 weeks run down across the series, not per absence. Someone with many short absences will not hit the limit quickly, but a long absence later in the series uses what is left.
- The rate is fixed at the start of the series. For someone whose hours went up, the earlier, lower rate can carry on until the series breaks.
It does not change how much is paid for each day — that is still the weekly rate divided by qualifying days in that week.
Qualifying days and linking
Linking is about days of incapacity, which include non-working days. Payment is about qualifying days, which are the days the employee normally works (regulation 5 of the 1982 Regulations; if none are agreed, Wednesday). A Saturday off sick for a Monday-to-Friday worker can still be the day that makes a period of incapacity — and can be what keeps the gap to 56 days or less.
You can agree that bank holidays are not qualifying days. If you do, they earn no SSP but still count as days of incapacity.
Record-keeping that makes linking easy
- Record the first and last day of every absence, including weekends inside it.
- Keep the average weekly earnings figure used at the start of each series.
- Note the date a new absence would stop linking: 57 days after the last day of the latest absence. The calculator shows this.
For the April 2026 changes in general, read SSP changes April 2026.