Citation | Do I have to pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from day one of absence? A 2026 guide for UK employers

The short answer is yes. Since 6 April 2026, every eligible employee is entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from their first day of sickness absence. The three-day unpaid waiting period is gone, and so is the requirement to earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) that excluded lower-paid staff altogether. Both changes come from the wider Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms.

These changes to SSP affect almost every UK employer. If you run payroll for even one employee, the rules around when SSP starts and who qualifies have changed. Part-time staff, zero-hours employees and anyone earning below the LEL are now covered from their very first day off sick.

The new weekly SSP rate for the 2026/27 tax year is £123.25, or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. That protects employers from having to pay lower earners more in SSP than they’d earn if they worked.

Key takeaways

Question	Answer
Do I have to pay SSP from day one of absence?	Yes, since 6 April 2026
Has the earnings threshold requirement gone?	Yes, employees no longer need to earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit
What’s the current SSP rate?	£123.25/week, or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower, for the 2026/27 tax year
Who enforces SSP compliance?	The Fair Work Agency in due course – this body was established on 7 April 2026. Employees can also bring employment tribunal claims around SSP
What law made this change?	The Employment Rights Act 2025

What is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)?

SSP is the minimum amount UK employers must pay eligible employees who are off work sick; it’s not a benefit employers can choose to offer. Employers can pay more generous contractual or occupational sick pay on top, but SSP is the baseline every employer must meet.

A timeline showing the changes to SSP regulations in the UK

Do employers have to pay SSP from day one of sickness absence?

Yes. Before 6 April 2026, employees had to wait three unpaid “waiting days” before SSP was due, meaning short absences often went unpaid entirely. That waiting period has been abolished. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, SSP is now payable from the first qualifying day of sickness absence, however short the absence.

Therefore, a one-day absence that would previously have earned nothing now triggers an SSP payment.

When did the day-one SSP rule come into force?

The rule took effect on 6 April 2026. From this date, an employee is entitled to SSP from the first day of sickness absence, provided they meet the basic eligibility conditions: they’ve started work for their employer and notified about the sickness within the required deadline.

Has the Lower Earnings Limit for SSP been removed?

Yes. Before 6 April 2026, employees had to earn at least the LEL to qualify for SSP at all. The Employment Rights Act 2025 scrapped that threshold requirement completely.

Every employee now qualifies for SSP regardless of how much they earn or how few hours they work. This change matters most for businesses with part-time, casual or zero-hours staff, who made up a large share of the up to 1.3 million workers the Government’s Statutory Sick Pay factsheet says were previously shut out of SSP by the earnings threshold.

How much is Statutory Sick Pay in 2026/27?

According to GOV.UK’s rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, the standard weekly SSP rate for the 2026/27 tax year is £123.25, up from £118.75 the year before, or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever figure is lower.

Rule	Before 6 April 2026	From 6 April 2026
Earnings threshold	Must earn LEL (then £125 per week)	No threshold. Everyone qualifies
Weekly rate	£118.75 flat rate	£123.25, or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower

For example, a part-time employee earning £100 a week who is off sick would previously have received nothing. From 6 April 2026, they receive 80% of their average weekly earnings, since that’s lower than the £123.25 flat rate. For full worked calculations covering zero-hours and phased-return staff, see Citation’s detailed guide to calculating SSP under the new rules.

A graphic showing SSP changes before and after April 2026

How can you check that your business is complying with day-one SSP?

Update payroll systems to calculate and pay SSP from the first qualifying day, with no waiting-day deduction
Remove any earnings-threshold check from your sickness absence process
Rewrite sickness absence policy wording that still references waiting days or the Lower Earnings Limit
Brief line managers so they understand SSP now applies to even a single day of sickness absence
Check how you calculate average weekly earnings for zero-hours and variable-hours staff, since getting this wrong risks underpayment
Keep clear absence records from day one, given the risk of tribunal claims and in due course enforcement by the Fair Work Agency

A graphic showing a six-step process for employers to comply with SSP changes 2026

FAQs

Is the SSP rate still £118.75 a week?

No. £118.75 was the rate for the 2025/26 tax year. From 6 April 2026, the SSP rate rose to £123.25 a week, or 80% of average weekly earnings if that’s lower.

Do zero-hours and part-time employees qualify for day-one SSP?

Yes. Since the Lower Earnings Limit was removed on 6 April 2026, zero-hours and all part-time employees qualify for SSP from their first day of sickness absence, regardless of how little they earn or how few hours they work.

Does the day-one SSP rule apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

Yes. SSP is a UK-wide entitlement, so the day-one rule and the removal of the LEL apply equally in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Can employers still run a contractual sick pay scheme alongside SSP?

Yes. SSP is a legal minimum, not a cap. Employers can continue to offer more generous contractual or occupational sick pay schemes on top of SSP, and many businesses that already pay from day one of absence will see little change from these reforms.

Is there a limit on how long SSP is paid?

Yes. Per GOV.UK’s Statutory Sick Pay eligibility guidance, SSP can be paid for up to 28 weeks of sickness absence. Separate periods of sickness within eight weeks of each other are usually linked together and treated as one period for this limit.

Who is still not eligible for Statutory Sick Pay?

Self-employed workers who pay tax through Self Assessment aren’t eligible for SSP, since GOV.UK’s eligibility rules only cover those taxed through PAYE. Employees who haven’t yet started work for their employer, or who don’t notify their employer of sickness within the required deadline, may also not qualify.

Get your SSP process ready before your next sick day

If your payroll, absence policy or manager training hasn’t caught up with the day-one SSP rules yet, our HR and employment law consultants can help you get compliant and avoid penalties. Contact Citation’s HR and employment law team today and discover how Citation can help your business navigate the Employment Rights Act 2025 with confidence.

Do I have to pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from day one of absence? A 2026 guide for UK employers