SSP from day one: the April 2026 change

Statutory Sick Pay no longer has three unpaid waiting days or a lower earnings limit. A single day of sickness is now a period of incapacity for work, and the weekly rate is the lower of £123.25 and 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings.

Who it affects

Every employer with staff on payroll, including those with one employee. Part-time and low-paid staff who earned under £125 a week now qualify.

What changes

• Waiting days removed: SSP is due from the first qualifying day of sickness.
• Lower earnings limit removed: employees earning under £125 a week are now entitled.
• Rate: £123.25 a week (2026/27) or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
• A period of incapacity for work can now be a single day (it used to need 4 consecutive days), so short absences link more often.
• Linked absences still share one 28-week maximum when they are 8 weeks (56 days) or less apart.

What to do

1. Check your payroll software applied the new rules from 6 April 2026 — especially the 80% calculation for staff earning under £154.07 a week.
2. Update the sick pay clause in contracts and the sickness absence policy: remove references to waiting days and the earnings threshold.
3. Keep a running record of every absence, however short, so you can tell when periods link and how much of the 28 weeks is used.
4. For absences that started before 6 April 2026 and carried on past it, apply the transitional rules (waiting days after 6 April are payable; rate protection for £125–£154.05 earners).

Documents to review

• Payroll SSP settings : Waiting days switched off from 6 April 2026; 80% of earnings cap applied below £154.07 a week; Absences of any length recorded so linking works.
• Sickness absence policy : No mention of waiting days or the £125 threshold; How and when to report sickness; When a fit note is needed (more than 7 days in a row).
• Employment contracts / written statements : Sick pay clause reflects day-one SSP; Probation clause: length, review, extension; References to “two years” for dismissal rights; Variation and flexibility clauses (fire and rehire); Confidentiality wording on harassment.

Tick these off and export the dates to your calendar in the business plan tab.

Work out SSP across linked absences

Sources

1. S.I. 2026/373 — Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026
2. Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, s.152 (as amended)
3. Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, s.157 (as amended)
4. GOV.UK — Statutory Sick Pay: employer guide
5. GOV.UK — Sickness absences that start before and end on or after 6 April 2026

A summary for employers, not legal advice. Where a change depends on regulations not yet made, details may differ from this page.