Statutory sick pay (SSP)

The Act introduces three important changes to SSP. 

1 – It removes the current requirement that employees earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit (currently £125 per week, rising to £129 per week in April) to be eligible to receive SSP. This means that from 6 April 2026 all employees will be eligible for SSP regardless of how much they earn. For low earners, the rate of SSP will be either the flat rate (currently £118.75 but increasing to £123.25 on 6 April 2026) or 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower. 

For example, Adam earns £97.50 per week. His rate of SSP will be 80% of his average weekly earnings = £78. 

In practice, this means lower paid staff will usually receive 80% of their usual weekly pay, while higher paid staff will receive the flat SSP rate. 

2 – It removes ‘waiting days’ from the SSP system. Currently employees do not receive SSP for the first 3 days of sickness absence from work. These are known as ‘waiting days’. From 6 April, these will be scrapped and eligible employees will be entitled to SSP from the first day of sickness absence.  

For example, Cheryl works Monday to Friday and is absent from work for a full week because of flu. Currently she does not receive SSP for Monday to Wednesday as these are ‘waiting days’ and therefore she only receives SSP for Thursday and Friday. From 6 April she will receive SSP for the full week. 

3 – The way in which SSP is enforced is also changing. From 6 April this will be taken over by the new enforcement body, the Fair Work Agency (more on this below).  

The changes to SSP entitlement will not only increase costs for employers but could lead to an increase in rates of short-term sickness absence. 

What do I need to do to prepare for the changes? 

• Documents – you don’t have to worry about making changes to your handbook and your contract templates. If you use Citation documents, we’ll be automatically updating your documents with the new SSP wording on the weekend of 28/29 March. You’ll receive an email with the new wording and links to updated templates and fact sheets in early April and you’ll also receive email confirmation when the changes have been made.  

• Absence management processes – There is no doubt that SSP costs will increase as a result of these changes, but it may also trigger an increase in short term sickness absence issues. Now is a good time to review your absence management processes.  

1. Do your managers consistently require employees to complete self-certificates? 
2.  Do they consistently hold return to work meetings?  
3. Do they know when and how to escalate absence issues? 

Make sure your absence management process is clear and consistently followed. 

• Check your payroll calculations and records are accurate and easy to produce if challenged. 

Getting absence management processes right now will help keep costs under control. Look out for our webinar on managing sickness absence.