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Statutory sick pay
calculator (UK)

Work out SSP under the 2026 rules, where it pays from day one and the earnings test is gone.

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Maximum 28 weeks
Statutory Sick Pay
 
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What is the SSP rate for 2026?

The lower of 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings or £123.25 a week, payable for up to 28 weeks.

How we calculated this

Under the rules in force since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is the lower of 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings or the flat rate of £123.25 a week. We work out 80% of the earnings you entered and compare it with the flat rate. The lower figure is paid for each week of absence, up to the 28-week maximum. There are no waiting days and no earnings test any more, so the whole absence counts from the first full day. The figure is the statutory minimum an employer owes, not what a contractual sick pay scheme might pay. The working, the assumptions and the sources are all below.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of Statutory Sick Pay in the HR Glossary.

Your working
Assumptions
  • Applies the post-6 April 2026 rules from the Employment Rights Act 2025: no waiting days and no Lower Earnings Limit, with a rate of 80% of average weekly earnings or £123.25, whichever is lower. Absences that started before 6 April 2026 ran under transitional rules, so use this for absences that began on or after that date.
  • Treats every week of the absence as a full week of qualifying days. Part weeks are paid pro rata by qualifying day, so a mid-week start or finish gives a slightly different figure.
  • Uses the average weekly earnings you enter, which HMRC calculates over the eight weeks before the absence. Enter the average, not the contracted weekly rate, or a variable-hours worker's figure will be off.
  • Caps the payment at 28 weeks and shows the statutory floor only. Contractual sick pay, where it exists, is usually higher; SSP is the minimum inside it, not an extra on top.
Sources

What to do about it

SSP is the cost you can calculate. The absence pattern behind it is the cost you cannot, and it is usually the bigger one. These steps are for whoever handles absence in the team, whether that is HR or the line manager.

1

Check which rules the absence falls under

Absences that began on or after 6 April 2026 pay from day one with no earnings test. Anything that started earlier ran under transitional rules. Note the start date and the rule you applied on the record so nobody has to reconstruct it at an audit.

2

Read the contract before you pay the floor

SSP is the minimum. Many contracts and collective agreements set a higher rate or a longer period, and the higher one applies. Write down which document you relied on and how many weeks it runs.

3

Look at the pattern, not the payment

One long absence and eight short ones can cost the same in SSP and mean completely different things. Log every absence with dates, and run the frequency through a Bradford Factor calculation each quarter. Short, frequent absence is the kind that says something about the workload or the manager.

4
Where a tool helps

Ask what the absence is telling you while the person is still off

Keep in touch and plan the return with them. Check whether the same team keeps producing the same absences. Repeated sickness in one team is more often a climate problem than a run of bad luck, and it is fixable at team level.

The SSP is payroll.
The pattern is people.

Compono Engage is an employee engagement platform that reads culture and climate alongside work personality, team by team, so you can see where pressure and disengagement are building before they turn into absence. Most engagement tools survey once a year and report an average; Engage shows which team is drifting and what is driving it.

Step 4 asks you to read the pattern behind the payments. Engage gives you that read continuously, so the SSP figure above stops being a recurring surprise and starts being a signal you saw coming.

See how it works
Compono Engage
8%+
reduction in turnover

Common questions

Are there still three waiting days for SSP?

No. The Employment Rights Act 2025 removed waiting days from 6 April 2026, so SSP is payable from the first full day of sickness absence.

Do employees have to earn a minimum amount to get SSP?

No, not since 6 April 2026. The Lower Earnings Limit test was removed, so all employees qualify regardless of weekly earnings. Lower earners now receive 80% of their average weekly earnings.

How long can SSP be paid?

Up to 28 weeks for any period of sickness. Beyond that, employees may move to other support. Contractual sick pay can be more generous than SSP and often is.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with GOV.UK or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.

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Statutory Sick Pay

The plain-English definition, with the calculators and rules that sit around it.

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