How much SSP do you need to pay? Enter the employee's sick days to check eligibility and see your exact cost at £123.25/week for 2026/27.
How much is SSP in 2026/27?
Paid from day one of absence for up to 28 weeks. No earnings floor — all employees qualify. Workers earning less than £123.25/week receive 80% of their average weekly earnings instead of the flat rate.
Eligibility: All employees (no earnings floor)
Starts from: Day 1 of sickness (no waiting days)
Weekly rate: £123.25 or 80% of earnings
Maximum duration: 28 weeks
Total SSP payable
Payable Days
10 days
SSP applies from day 1
Daily Rate
£24.65
£123.25 ÷ 5 days
Remaining Weeks
26.0 weeks
of 28 total
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See how the widget worksStatutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the legal minimum UK employers must pay to employees off sick. For 2026/27 the rate is £123.25 per week, paid from day one of absence for up to 28 weeks. Three significant changes came into force in April 2026 that every employer needs to understand: the abolition of the three waiting days, the removal of the earnings floor, and the 80% cap for lower earners.
| Rule | Before April 2026 | From April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting days | 3 waiting days — first 3 qualifying days unpaid | None — SSP from day one |
| Earnings threshold | Must earn ≥ £125/week (Lower Earnings Limit) | No earnings floor — all employees qualify |
| Weekly rate | £116.75/week | £123.25/week |
| Low earner protection | No SSP if below LEL | 80% of average weekly earnings if below £123.25/week |
| Maximum duration | 28 weeks | 28 weeks (unchanged) |
The removal of waiting days is the biggest financial change for employers. Under the old rules, a one-day absence cost you nothing in SSP. Now a single sick day costs £24.65. For a business with 10 employees each taking the UK average of 4.4 sick days per year (CIPD 2024 figures), the annual SSP bill is approximately £1085 — compared to near-zero under the old 3-day waiting rule.
| Working pattern | Qualifying days/week | Daily SSP rate | Weekly SSP rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time (Mon–Fri) | 5 | £24.65 | £123.25 |
| 4 days/week | 4 | £30.81 | £123.25 |
| 3 days/week | 3 | £41.08 | £123.25 |
The weekly rate is always £123.25 regardless of working pattern — only the daily rate changes.
| Sick period | Payable days | Total SSP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day | 1 | £24.65 |
| 1 week (5 days) | 5 | £123.25 |
| 2 weeks | 10 | £246.50 |
| 4 weeks | 20 | £493.00 |
| 13 weeks | 65 | £1602.25 |
| 28 weeks (max) | 140 | £3451.00 |
Scenario: Emma works Monday to Friday (5 qualifying days). She earns £500/week. She calls in sick on Monday 1 September and returns on Monday 15 September — 10 working days absent.
Result: Emma receives £246.50 in SSP. You pay this through normal payroll, deducting Income Tax and employee NI as usual. You cannot reclaim SSP from HMRC.
Employees earning less than £123.25/week receive SSP at 80% of their average weekly earnings. This prevents lower earners from receiving more in SSP than they would normally earn. The 80% figure is calculated from average weekly earnings over the 8 weeks before the sick leave started.
Example: an employee earning £100/week would receive £80/week in SSP, not the flat £123.25. An employee earning £200/week would receive the full flat rate of £123.25/week, since 80% of £200 (£160) is above the flat rate.
A practical rule of thumb for payroll budgeting: assume each full-time employee will take 4–5 sick days per year on average (UK national average is 4.4 days per CIPD 2024). At the flat rate of £24.65/day, that is £108–£123 per employee per year in direct SSP cost, before factoring in cover or lost productivity.
Sectors with higher absence rates — healthcare, social care, manufacturing — should budget higher. The CIPD reports that public sector absence averages 7.8 days/year, vs 5.6 days in the private sector.
SSP stops when any of the following occur:
When SSP ends at 28 weeks due to long-term illness, you must issue an SSP1 form within 7 days. The employee can then apply for ESA or Universal Credit. Some employers arrange income protection (group IP) insurance to supplement SSP for extended absences — this also reduces your exposure to full occupational sick pay costs.
If an employee has two spells of sickness within 8 weeks of each other, they are treated as a single “period of incapacity for work” (PIW). The SSP clock does not reset between linked periods — both spells count toward the 28-week maximum.
Example: James is off sick for 2 weeks in June, returns for 4 weeks, then is sick again. The second absence is within 8 weeks of the first — they link. James's 28-week clock includes both absences combined.
For employees who have been with you fewer than 8 weeks, calculate average weekly earnings from the actual weeks worked. If they started 3 weeks ago, use those 3 weeks. There is no minimum service requirement — an employee sick in their first week still qualifies for SSP.
Zero-hours workers qualify for SSP if they were scheduled to work on the days they are sick and have a contract of employment (not a contract for services). Calculate average weekly earnings from the 8 weeks before sickness started — include only weeks in which they were actually paid; skip zero-pay weeks and look back further.
SSP continues throughout a notice period, whether notice is given by you or the employee. If you dismiss someone while they are sick, SSP is payable until the notice period ends, unless SSP would have ended sooner under normal rules. You cannot use illness as a reason to withhold SSP owed during notice.
SSP stops when Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) begins. You cannot pay both simultaneously. If an employee is off sick during pregnancy, SSP applies until their maternity leave start date — at which point SMP takes over (if she qualifies). Use our SMP calculator to work out the handoff.
Yes — if they have a contract of employment, earn at least £1 (the old earnings floor no longer applies in 2026/27), and were due to work on the sick days. The key test is whether they are a worker or an employee — true self-employed contractors do not qualify.
Your SSP is £123.25 per week — paid for every qualifying day you are off sick, from day one. There are no waiting days in 2026/27.
SSP is paid by your employer through payroll — not by HMRC directly. Income Tax and National Insurance are deducted in the normal way. SSP can be paid for a maximum of 28 weeks. After that, you may be eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit — your employer must give you an SSP1 form to help with this claim.
There is no legal requirement to pay more than SSP. However, offering enhanced sick pay is an increasingly common part of the benefits package — particularly in sectors competing for talent. Common approaches include:
Read more in our guide: SSP vs Company Sick Pay: Employer Obligations and Best Practice.
SSP is one of several costs to factor into your employment budget. Use our employee cost calculator to see the full picture — employer NI, pension, and on-costs. You'll also want to model holiday entitlement alongside absence, since both affect headcount planning.
All rates in one printable card: NMW, employer NI, SSP, pension thresholds.