How to calculate statutory sick pay under the 2026 rules

Before you start

Legal basis. Part XI of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, as amended by the Employment Rights Act 2025 from 6 April 2026, and the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982 [2][3][12].

Who is involved. Payroll, plus HR or the line manager to record dates, notice and fit notes.

What you need: the first and last days of sickness; the employee's qualifying days; their paydays and gross earnings for at least the previous 8 weeks; and any sickness absence that ended in the previous 56 days.

For evidence on how UK employers pay sick pay, see our research briefing on occupational sick pay.

Step 1: Check the employee is eligible

An employee qualifies if they have an employment contract, have done some work under it, have been sick for at least one full working day, and give notice and proof of illness when needed [4]. There is no earnings test. Exclusions include employees who have had 28 weeks of SSP or are getting Statutory Maternity Pay [4].

Step 2: Identify the period of sickness and the qualifying days

A period of incapacity for work (PIW) is sickness lasting at least one full day. Every day counts towards it, including weekends and non-working days [5]. SSP is paid only for qualifying days: the days the employee normally works, agreed between you, at least one a week [6]. SSP weeks run from Sunday [2].

Step 3: Check whether the absence links to an earlier one

If the gap between two PIWs is 56 days or less, treat them as one. Apply the qualifying conditions to the first day of the first PIW, and keep the rate set then, even if earnings have changed [5]. A continuous linked series can't last more than 3 years [4].

Transitional rules apply where a period of entitlement began before 6 April 2026 and continued after it: for example, an employee earning £125 to £154.0625 a week keeps the £123.25 rate for the rest of that period [3].

Step 4: Work out average weekly earnings

The relevant period ends on the last normal payday before the first full day of sickness. It starts the day after the last normal payday at least 8 weeks before that [5][6].

• Weekly paid: gross earnings paid in the period ÷ number of weeks.
• Monthly paid: gross earnings ÷ number of months × 12 ÷ 52.

Count all earnings on which Class 1 National Insurance is due, or would be if earnings were high enough, and don't round [5]. For an employee paid for less than 8 weeks, use all earnings paid before the sickness. If nothing has been paid yet, use contractual earnings [5][6].

Step 5: Apply the 80% comparison

The weekly rate is the lower of £123.25 and 80% of average weekly earnings [2][7]. The two are equal at £154.0625 a week, so anyone earning less receives 80% of earnings.

Step 6: Work out the daily rate and the amount due

Divide the weekly rate by the qualifying days in that week, then multiply by the qualifying days of sickness [2][5]. Pay it through payroll, with tax and National Insurance deducted [4]. Where the division isn't exact, round up. Regulation 11 of the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982 requires any fraction of a penny in the payment to be rounded up to the next whole penny [12]. It is mandatory, not a choice of method, and HMRC's tables and the GOV.UK calculator apply the same rule [7][8].

Worked example 1: full-time, monthly paid. Inputs: £2,600 gross, paid on the last day of each month; works Monday to Friday; sick Monday 14 to Tuesday 22 September 2026.

• Last payday before the sickness: 31 August. Eight weeks earlier is 6 July, so the earlier payday is 30 June. Relevant period: 1 July to 31 August, with two payments of £2,600.
• Average weekly earnings: £5,200 ÷ 2 × 12 ÷ 52 = £600.00. 80% is £480.00, so the flat rate applies: £123.25 a week.
• Daily rate: £123.25 ÷ 5 = £24.65. Week from 13 September: 5 days, £123.25. Week from 20 September: 2 days, £49.30.
• Result: £172.55. The absence lasted 9 days, so a fit note is needed.

Worked example 2: part-time, low-paid, weekly paid. Inputs: paid every Friday; works Tuesday and Thursday; sick Tuesday 8 to Tuesday 15 September 2026.

• Last payday before the sickness: 4 September. Eight weeks earlier: 10 July. Relevant period: 11 July to 4 September, with 8 paydays of £96, £108, £102, £96, £114, £102, £96 and £106, totalling £820.
• Average weekly earnings: £820 ÷ 8 = £102.50. 80% is £82.00, lower than £123.25, so the weekly rate is £82.00.
• Daily rate: £82.00 ÷ 2 = £41.00. Week from 6 September: 2 days, £82.00. Week from 13 September: 1 day, £41.00.
• Result: £123.00. Before 6 April 2026 this employee would have had no SSP, because £102.50 was below the 2025/26 lower earnings limit of £125 [9].

Step 7: Track linked periods and the 28-week maximum

The maximum SSP in a period of entitlement is 28 times the weekly rate. SSP stops when the employee returns to work, reaches the maximum or no longer qualifies, for example because their contract ends [2][4]. A new absence that doesn't link starts afresh, with a new relevant period, rate and 28-week entitlement [2].

Worked example 3: linked periods. Inputs: the employee in example 2 is sick again from Tuesday 3 to Thursday 12 November 2026. Their hours rose in October.

• Gap between the absences: 16 September to 2 November, 48 days. That is 56 days or less, so they link.
• A fresh calculation would give average earnings of £150.00 and a rate of £120.00. In a linked series the rate stays at £82.00.
• Qualifying days sick: 3, 5, 10 and 12 November. 4 × £41.00 = £164.00.
• Maximum entitlement: 28 × £82.00 = £2,296.00, or 56 qualifying days. Used: 7 days (£287.00). Remaining: 49 days (£2,009.00).
• An absence starting on 8 January 2027 (a 56-day gap) would link; one starting a day later, on 9 January 2027 (a 57-day gap), would not.

Step 8: Ask for a fit note only once absence passes 7 days

Employees self-certify for the first 7 days of absence, including non-working days. You can only ask for a fit note where an employee is off more than 7 days in a row [4]. Acas puts the same point as asking from the 7th day of absence, so the request is made as that limit is reached [10]. You can't withhold SSP because a fit note arrives late [4].

Step 9: Give form SSP1 when SSP ends or isn't due

Use DWP's 2026/27 SSP1, updated 20 April 2026. It supports the employee's claim for Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance [11]. Give it [4]:

• within 7 days of the first day off sick, if the employee isn't eligible;
• on or before the start of the 23rd week, if SSP is expected to end before the sickness does;
• within 7 days of SSP ending, if it ends unexpectedly while they are still sick.

Give one too if the employment ends while the employee is still sick [4].

Step 10: Line up company sick pay and records

If you pay company sick pay, check how it sits alongside day-one SSP. The design choices are in what to review in your company sick pay scheme.

In the lumi reward benchmark, 66.2% of organisations have a waiting period of up to 3 days before occupational sick pay applies, and 33.1% have no waiting period (n = 136, "Not applicable" excluded).

Asked whether occupational sick pay has been reviewed against the April 2026 SSP reform, 32.6% of organisations are reviewing it, the common answer. 29.6% have not reviewed it, 28.8% have aligned it and 9.0% have aligned it and enhanced occupational sick pay (n = 267).

GOV.UK leaves the form of sickness records to you [4]. Keep enough to show how each payment was worked out.

Checklist

• Eligibility checked, with no earnings test
• Notification deadline set and communicated
• First full day of sickness and qualifying days recorded
• Absences in the previous 56 days checked for linking
• Average weekly earnings worked out over the relevant period, unrounded
• Weekly rate set at the lower of £123.25 and 80% of earnings
• Running total checked against 28 times the weekly rate
• Fit note requested for absences of more than 7 days
• Form SSP1 (2026/27 version) issued on time where needed
• Company sick pay rules checked against day-one SSP

Related

• Occupational sick pay: UK benchmark 2026 — the benchmark findings behind the figures in this guide.
• How to set up group income protection
• How to write an enhanced maternity and adoption pay policy
• How lumi works: methodology — how these figures are collected and calculated.