SSP Calculator — New 2026 Rules

The Employment Rights Act 2025 made three significant changes to Statutory Sick Pay:

1. No more waiting days. Previously, employers didn't pay SSP for the first 3 qualifying days of absence. From April 2026, SSP is payable from the first day the employee is off sick.
2. No lower earnings limit. Previously, employees needed to earn at least £123 per week to qualify for SSP. This threshold has been removed entirely.
3. Day-1 right. SSP now applies from the first day of employment — there's no minimum service requirement.

Under the new rules, an employee qualifies for SSP if they are:

• An employee (not self-employed)
• Off sick for at least 1 day (previously 4+ days including waiting days)
• Earning any amount (the £123/week lower earnings limit has been removed)

The SSP rate for the 2026/27 tax year is £123.25 per week. This is divided by the number of qualifying days in the employee's working week. For a standard 5-day worker, the daily rate is £24.65.

SSP is payable for up to 28 weeks in a single period of sickness. If an employee has two periods of sickness separated by 8 weeks or less, these are "linked" and count toward the same 28-week maximum.

• Update payroll systems to remove the 3-day waiting period
• Remove any lower earnings threshold checks from SSP calculations
• Update employee handbooks and sick pay policies
• Brief line managers on the new rules
• Consider the impact on occupational sick pay schemes that reference SSP eligibility