Statutory Sick Pay From Day One: Is Your Absence Policy Still Fit for Purpose?

Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rules changed more fundamentally than at any point since the scheme began in 1983. This change is already in force — but many employers are still running absence management policies and processes that were written for the old rules. This guide explains what actually changed, and where the real risk sits: not in payroll, but in day-to-day absence management.

A quick explainer of the terms you’ll see

• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) — a minimum weekly payment employers must legally pay to eligible employees who are off work sick, funded by the employer (not reclaimed from the government in most cases).
• Waiting days — under the old rules, the first three days of any sickness absence for which no SSP was payable.
• Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) — a minimum weekly earnings threshold an employee previously had to meet to qualify for SSP at all.
• Period of Incapacity for Work (PIW) — the technical term for a spell of sickness absence, used to work out SSP entitlement and how separate absences link together.
• Qualifying days — the specific days in a week an employee is normally expected to work, which is what SSP is actually calculated against.

What changed on 6 April 2026

Three things changed on the same date, and together they represent the biggest shift to SSP since it was introduced:

1. SSP is now paid from day one

Previously, SSP only became payable from the fourth day of sickness absence — the first three “waiting days” were unpaid unless an employer’s own contractual sick pay said otherwise. From 6 April 2026, there are no waiting days. SSP is now payable from the very first qualifying day someone is off sick.

2. The earnings threshold has been removed

Previously, an employee had to earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit (£125 per week) on average to qualify for SSP at all — anyone below that threshold, often the lowest-paid, part-time, or casual staff, had no entitlement whatsoever. That threshold is now gone. All eligible employees qualify, regardless of how much they earn.

3. The payment calculation has changed

SSP is now calculated as the lower of:

• 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, or
• the statutory flat rate (£123.25 per week for 2026/27).

This means very low earners receive a meaningful proportion of their actual pay, rather than either nothing (under the old earnings threshold) or a flat rate that could exceed their normal wage.

Why this is a bigger deal than it looks

On paper, this reads like a payroll update. In practice, it changes how absence behaves operationally, in ways that are easy to miss:

• Short absences now cost money from day one. A single day off sick that previously fell entirely within the unpaid waiting period now triggers an SSP liability immediately.
• Roughly 1.2 million low-paid and part-time workers became newly entitled to SSP for the first time — if your business has casual, part-time, or lower-paid roles, a meaningful chunk of your workforce may now qualify who didn’t before.
• Phased returns to work behave differently. Under the old rules, an employee doing a phased return (partly at work, partly still recovering) would often lose SSP entitlement because their pattern of attendance broke the run of consecutive sick days needed. Now, because incapacity is assessed day-by-day rather than needing a run of days, SSP can be payable for each individual absent day during a phased return — even while they’re attending work on other days.
• Absence reporting needs to be tighter and faster. With SSP now triggered from day one, sickness needs to be recorded accurately and promptly, since even a single day matters for entitlement and cost tracking.

What employers should do now

1. Confirm your payroll system has actually been updated. Most cloud payroll providers pushed this update automatically, but it’s worth verifying directly rather than assuming — particularly if you use a smaller or bespoke payroll setup.
2. Update your written SSP and sickness absence policy. If it still references waiting days or an earnings threshold, it’s now inaccurate and could mislead staff about their entitlement.
3. Review how you manage short-term absence. With every day now carrying a cost, consistent, fair, and well-documented short-term absence management matters more than ever — this is a good moment to check managers are applying your policy consistently.
4. Revisit your approach to phased returns. If you support employees returning to work gradually after illness, make sure whoever runs payroll understands the new day-by-day SSP treatment, so phased returns are calculated correctly.
5. Check transitional cases. Some employees already receiving SSP before 6 April 2026 have transitional protection so they aren’t worse off under the new rules — worth checking if this affects anyone currently on a long-term sickness absence.
6. Communicate the change to your team. Many employees, especially lower-paid or part-time staff who weren’t previously eligible for any SSP, may not realise their entitlement has changed.

How Cheviot HR can help

Getting SSP technically correct in payroll is only half the picture — the bigger shift is in how short-term absence gets managed day to day. We can review and update your sickness absence policy, check your processes are consistent with the new rules, and support your managers in handling short-term absence fairly and confidently under the new system.

Get in touch at heidi@cheviothr.co.uk or visit https://cheviothr.co.uk to talk through what this means for your business.