Statutory Sick Pay: the employer's guide
Who qualifies for SSP after the April 2026 changes, when it starts and stops, fit notes and self-certification, linked periods, records, and how it sits with company sick pay.
Reviewed September 2026. Guidance, not legal advice: employment law moves, so check the current position before relying on any of it.
Statutory Sick Pay is the floor under every employee who is off sick. The rules changed on 6 April 2026: the three unpaid waiting days went, and so did the lower earnings limit, so SSP is now payable from the first qualifying day of sickness to every employee regardless of how much they earn. Employers who learned the old rules need to unlearn two of them.
This guide covers eligibility, the daily and weekly mechanics, evidence, the 28-week cap and linked periods, what to give an employee whose SSP ends, and the records to keep. The weekly rate changes every April and is not quoted here; gov.uk has the current figure.
Who qualifies
An employee (in the SSP sense, which includes agency workers and most people paid through PAYE) who is sick and unable to work on a day they would normally work, and who has notified the employer in line with the employer's rules. Since April 2026 there is no earnings threshold: the lowest-paid part-timer qualifies on the same footing as everyone else. For those on very low earnings, the amount is a percentage of their average weekly earnings where that is lower than the flat weekly rate; check the current rule on gov.uk.
People who do not qualify: the genuinely self-employed, employees who have already had 28 weeks of SSP in a linked run of absences, and employees receiving statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance for the same period.
Qualifying days and the daily rate
SSP is paid for qualifying days: the days the employee normally works, as agreed in the contract or by the pattern of work. A five-day worker has five qualifying days a week; the daily rate is the weekly rate divided by five. Someone on a three-day pattern has three qualifying days, each worth a third of the weekly rate. Since April 2026 there are no waiting days, so the first qualifying day of absence is paid.
The employee must tell you they are sick in the way your absence procedure requires. You can insist on notification by a set time on the first day, but you cannot require notification in person, on a specific form, or earlier than the first qualifying day, and you cannot refuse SSP because they told a colleague rather than you if they did not know your rule.
Evidence: self-certification and fit notes
For the first seven calendar days of any absence the employee self-certifies: a form, an email, or a note in Work-Lynx saying they were unfit and why, in their words. You cannot demand a doctor's note for a short absence and you cannot withhold SSP for the lack of one.
From the eighth calendar day, a fit note is required, issued by a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist or occupational therapist. A fit note says either "not fit for work" or "may be fit for work" with suggested adjustments (a phased return, altered hours, amended duties). If it says "may be fit" and you cannot make the adjustments, treat it as "not fit" and pay SSP. Fit notes can be digital; you do not need the original.
How long it lasts, and linked periods
SSP is payable for up to 28 weeks in a single period of sickness or in a series of linked periods. Two absences link if they are separated by eight weeks (56 days) or less; a linked series can run for up to three years before the count resets. An employee with a recurring condition can therefore reach the 28-week cap across many short absences.
When SSP is about to end, or when it is not payable, you give the employee form SSP1 so that they can claim Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit. The form is due when SSP ends, or within seven days of the absence starting where SSP was never due.
SSP and company sick pay
Contractual sick pay sits on top of SSP: the SSP element is included within whatever the company pays, not added to it. Your written statement must say what the sick pay terms are, or point to a document that does. If you pay full pay for four weeks and then SSP, say so. If you pay SSP only, say that. Silence means the tribunal decides what was agreed.
Records and recovery
Keep records of each absence, the qualifying days, the SSP paid and the evidence, for three years after the end of the tax year (HMRC) and longer where the record forms part of a capability or disability history. Work-Lynx tracks SSP weeks across linked absences so the 28-week count is right.
Employers cannot recover SSP from HMRC; the Percentage Threshold Scheme ended in 2014. SSP is a cost of employing people.
Getting it wrong
If you refuse SSP and the employee disagrees, they can ask HMRC's Statutory Payments Dispute Team to decide, and HMRC can order payment with penalties for a refusal. A dismissal connected to a disability-related absence can be discrimination; a dismissal for claiming SSP can be automatically unfair. The more common error is silent: employees on low earnings still being told they do not qualify, months after the rule changed.
The checklist
- Absence procedure states how and by when to notify, and that self-certification covers the first seven days.
- Payroll pays SSP from the first qualifying day, to every employee, at the current rate or the low-earnings percentage where that applies.
- Fit notes requested from day eight and stored against the absence.
- "May be fit for work" notes acted on: adjustments made or SSP paid.
- Linked absences counted towards the 28 weeks; SSP1 issued when SSP ends.
- Company sick pay terms written into the statement of particulars.
- Records kept three years after the tax year, longer where relevant to capability.
What the law says
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 ss.151 to 163 and Schedules 11 and 12, as amended by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (removal of waiting days and the lower earnings limit from 6 April 2026).
- Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982: qualifying days, notification, linking, evidence.
- Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1985 and the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976: fit notes and who can issue them.
- Equality Act 2010 ss.15 and 20: disability-related absence.
Questions people ask
Do I pay SSP to someone off sick on a day they were not rostered?
No. SSP is paid for qualifying days only, and a day the employee would not have worked is not one. For staff with genuinely variable patterns, agree qualifying days in the contract or use the pattern of the previous weeks.
An employee is off sick during a period of lay-off. Do they get SSP?
If there is no work and no pay for that day under a lawful lay-off, it is not a qualifying day in the usual sense and SSP is generally not due; guarantee pay may be. Take advice on the specifics; the interaction is messy.
Can I withhold SSP if I think they are not really sick?
Not on suspicion. If you have evidence (they were seen working elsewhere), that is a conduct matter for the disciplinary procedure, and SSP for the days in question may be recoverable after a fair process. The default is that a properly notified and, where needed, certified absence is paid.
What about holiday during sick leave?
Holiday accrues in full during sickness. An employee can ask to take holiday while off sick and be paid holiday pay instead of SSP for those days; you cannot make them. Untaken statutory holiday lost to sickness carries over for up to 18 months.
The admin this guide describes, done for you
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