What changed in April 2026
- First paid day
- Day 4 (3 waiting days)
- Earnings needed
- At least £125 a week
- Weekly amount
- £118.75 flat
- First paid day
- Day 1
- Earnings needed
- None
- Weekly amount
- Lower of £123.25 or 80% of earnings
The changes came from the Employment Rights Act. Removing the waiting days means short illnesses are now paid, and removing the earnings test brings in about 1.3 million low-paid workers, many with more than one job, who previously got nothing.
Who can get SSP
You can get SSP if you:
- are classed as an employee and have done some work for your employer,
- are too ill to work, and
- tell your employer you are sick, within their deadline or within 7 days.
Agency workers, zero-hours workers and people with several jobs can all qualify. If you have more than one employer you can get SSP from each one. You cannot get SSP if you are self-employed, already getting Statutory Maternity Pay, or in some cases if you are in prison or abroad.
How much SSP you get
For 2026/27, SSP is the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of your average weekly earnings. The 80% rule only matters if you earn less than about £154 a week.
| Average weekly earnings | 80% of earnings | Weekly SSP |
|---|---|---|
| £80 | £64.00 | £64.00 |
| £120 | £96.00 | £96.00 |
| £150 | £120.00 | £120.00 |
| £154.06 or more | £123.25 or more | £123.25 |
| £500 | £400.00 | £123.25 |
- Weekly SSP80% of £500 is more than £123.25£123.25
- Daily rate£123.25 ÷ 5£24.65
- Before April 2026All 3 days were waiting days£0
Daily rates and part weeks
SSP is paid for qualifying days: the days you normally work. The weekly amount is divided by the number of qualifying days in your week.
| Days worked a week | Daily SSP |
|---|---|
| 3 | £41.08 |
| 4 | £30.81 |
| 5 | £24.65 |
| 7 | £17.61 |
If your days vary, you and your employer can agree which days count as qualifying days. There must be at least one a week.
Average weekly earnings
Your average weekly earnings are normally worked out over the 8 weeks before the pay day before you fell ill. They include overtime, bonuses, holiday pay and statutory pay, before tax and National Insurance. If you have worked for less than 8 weeks, a shorter period is used.
For most people this only matters if you earn less than £154.06 a week, because above that SSP is the flat £123.25.
How long SSP lasts
SSP is paid for up to 28 weeks in a period of sickness. If you are ill again within 8 weeks of a previous spell, the two are “linked” and count as one period, sharing the same 28 weeks.
- Days 1 to 7Self-certify
You can tell your employer you are ill without a doctor’s note.
- From day 8Fit note
Your employer can ask for a fit note from a GP, hospital doctor, nurse, pharmacist or physiotherapist.
- Week 23Warning
If SSP is going to end, your employer should give you form SSP1 by the start of week 23, or within 7 days if it ends sooner.
- Week 28SSP ends
You may be able to claim New Style Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit.
Company sick pay
Many employers pay more than SSP, for example full pay for a number of weeks followed by half pay. This is called contractual or occupational sick pay. SSP is included within it, not paid on top: you receive whichever is higher.
Company schemes often have conditions, such as a minimum length of service, and different rules for absence triggers and return-to-work meetings. Check your contract or staff handbook. If your company scheme runs out before 28 weeks, you still get SSP for the rest of the period.
Telling your employer and fit notes
Follow your employer’s absence rules. They can set a deadline for telling them, but they cannot insist on notice in person or on a form you have not been given. If they have no rules, you must tell them within 7 days.
Fit notes are free
A fit note can say you are not fit for work, or that you may be fit for work with changes such as reduced hours or lighter duties. GPs must not charge for a fit note for SSP purposes.
Tax, benefits and disputes
- Tax: SSP is paid through payroll and taxed like pay, with Income Tax and National Insurance deducted as normal.
- Universal Credit: SSP counts as earnings, so it reduces Universal Credit through the taper in the same way as wages.
- Disputes: if your employer refuses SSP, ask them for a written explanation (form SSP1 if they say you are not entitled). You can then ask HMRC to decide.
SSP in different situations
| Situation | Weekly SSP | Days off | SSP paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time, £600 a week, 5-day week | £123.25 | 10 | £246.50 |
| Part-time, £150 a week, 3-day week | £120.00 | 3 | £120.00 |
| Low earner, £100 a week, 2-day week | £80.00 | 4 | £160.00 |
| Full-time, off for the full 28 weeks | £123.25 | 140 | £3,451.00 |
Before April 2026 the part-time and low-earning workers in this table would have had nothing, and everyone would have lost the first three days.
SSP, holiday and maternity
- If you fall ill during booked holiday, you can ask to take the days as sick leave instead and rebook your holiday later.
- You can choose to take paid holiday while off sick, which gives you holiday pay instead of SSP for those days.
- SSP stops if you start Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance. If you are off sick with a pregnancy-related illness in the four weeks before your due date, your maternity pay period starts automatically.
SSP and Universal Credit
SSP is treated as earnings for Universal Credit, so it reduces your award in the same way as wages: by 55p for every £1 above any work allowance. Because SSP is usually lower than your normal wages, your Universal Credit will often go up while you are off sick.
If SSP ends after 28 weeks and you are still too ill to work, you can claim the health element of Universal Credit or New Style Employment and Support Allowance, depending on your National Insurance record. Your employer should give you form SSP1 to help with the claim.
For employers
- SSP is paid through payroll on your normal paydays, with tax and NI deducted.
- Since April 2026, pay SSP from the first qualifying day, with no earnings test.
- Use the lower of £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, divided by qualifying days.
- Employers cannot reclaim SSP from HMRC; the general recovery scheme ended in 2014, and the temporary Covid scheme has closed.
- Keep payroll records, including SSP payments, for at least 3 years.
Qualifying days and periods of sickness
SSP is worked out using qualifying days, the days of the week you normally work. If you work Monday to Friday, those are your qualifying days, and a weekend spent ill does not count. If your pattern changes from week to week, you and your employer can agree which days count, as long as there is at least one each week.
A period of incapacity for work is a run of days when you are too ill to work. Periods that are 8 weeks or less apart are linked and treated as one, which matters for the 28-week limit. Since April 2026 there are no waiting days, so the old rules about linking periods to avoid serving waiting days again no longer affect how much you receive at the start.
SSP is paid on your normal paydays, in the same way as wages. If you are paid monthly, SSP for days off in the month is added to that month’s pay.
Agency, zero-hours and several jobs
Agency workers are paid SSP by the agency, or by an umbrella company if one employs them. Zero-hours workers can get SSP for days they were due to work, and the April 2026 changes mean many of them qualify for the first time because the earnings test has gone.
If you have two jobs, each employer looks only at your earnings with them. You can get SSP from both, or from one if you can still do the other job. Before April 2026, people with two low-paid jobs often got nothing, because neither job alone reached the earnings threshold.
If you are self-employed, SSP does not apply. You may be able to claim New Style Employment and Support Allowance based on your National Insurance contributions, or Universal Credit.
If your employer will not pay
If your employer says you are not entitled to SSP, they must explain why in writing, usually on form SSP1, within 7 days of your request. Common reasons include not telling them in time, not being an employee, or having reached the 28-week limit.
If you disagree, raise it with your employer first, and then ask HMRC’s Statutory Payment Disputes Team to make a formal decision. HMRC can order your employer to pay. If your employer cannot pay, for example because it is insolvent, HMRC can pay you directly.
Returning to work
A fit note may say you “may be fit for work” with changes, such as a phased return, reduced hours, different duties or changes to your workplace. Your employer should discuss these with you. If they cannot make the changes, you are treated as not fit for work and SSP continues.
During a phased return you are paid for the hours you work. If you work part of a day, it does not count as a sick day for SSP. Many employers hold a return-to-work meeting to agree a plan, and some offer occupational health support.
If you are off sick for more than four weeks, your employer may refer you to occupational health or ask for your consent to contact your doctor. You do not have to agree to a medical report, but it can help your employer make the right adjustments.