Work out Statutory Sick Pay
Day-one SSP under the 2026 rules: the lower of £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings.
Statutory sick pay is worth £123.25 a week, or 80% of average weekly earnings where that figure is lower, and since 6 April 2026 it is payable from the very first qualifying day of sickness rather than the fourth [1]. It runs for up to 28 weeks in a single spell of incapacity, is paid through payroll, and is taxed like any other earnings [2].
Beneath that headline sits a set of moving parts that decide exactly how much lands in an employee's pay packet: qualifying days, the period of incapacity for work, average weekly earnings, notification deadlines and the linking rule. Get one wrong and the SSP figure is wrong.
This article walks through each mechanism in the order payroll actually applies it, from the days that count, to the rate, to the calculation of average weekly earnings, to the notification and evidence rules, and finally to what happens when the 28-week entitlement is exhausted.
Key takeaways
- SSP is paid only for qualifying days, the days an employee normally works, and the daily rate is the weekly rate divided by those days.
- The weekly rate is the lower of £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, so low earners now receive a proportionate amount rather than nothing.
- Average weekly earnings are worked out over an 8-week relevant period ending before the sickness began.
- An employee must tell the employer within its deadline or within 7 days, and provide a fit note for absences beyond 7 days.
- SSP lasts a maximum of 28 weeks, after which the employer issues form SSP1 so the employee can claim Employment and Support Allowance.
The building blocks: qualifying days and the PIW
Two concepts underpin every SSP calculation. Qualifying days decide which days are paid, and the period of incapacity for work decides whether an absence counts at all.
Qualifying days
SSP is only paid for qualifying days, the days on which an employee is normally required to work under the contract [1]. An employee is never paid SSP for a day they were not contracted to work, so a part-time worker who does three days a week has three qualifying days and no SSP for the other four [2]. Where a worker has no regular pattern, the employer and employee agree which days count as qualifying days [2].
Qualifying days matter because the daily rate depends on them. The fewer qualifying days in a week, the higher the value of each one, since the same weekly rate is spread across fewer days [3].
The period of incapacity for work
A period of incapacity for work, or PIW, is the spell of sickness that SSP attaches to. Under the rules that applied until 5 April 2026, a PIW had to run for at least four consecutive days, including weekends and non-working days, before any SSP was due [8]. The first three qualifying days were unpaid waiting days.
From 6 April 2026 the Employment Rights Act 2025 changed this. The three waiting days were abolished and a PIW can now begin from the first qualifying day of sickness, so an employee absent for a single complete day of sickness can qualify for SSP [8]. The four-day threshold that once gated the whole scheme no longer applies. The wider reform is set out in the Moonworkers guide to what changed in the SSP reform.
How much SSP is paid
Once qualifying days are settled, the next question is the rate. SSP now has two possible weekly figures, and the lower of them applies.
The flat rate and the 80% test
The weekly rate of SSP is the lower of £123.25 or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings [1]. Before 6 April 2026 an employee had to earn above the Lower Earnings Limit to receive anything at all. Now every eligible employee receives SSP, and those earning below a crossover point receive 80% of their pay instead of the flat rate [2].
The crossover sits at £154.06 of average weekly earnings, the point at which 80% of earnings exactly equals £123.25. The table below shows how the rate is decided.
| Average weekly earnings | Weekly SSP | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| £154.06 or more | £123.25 | Flat rate cap applies |
| Below £154.06 | 80% of AWE | Proportionate rate applies |
| Example: £100 a week | £80.00 | 80% of £100 |
| Example: £300 a week | £123.25 | Capped at the flat rate |
Where 80% of average weekly earnings produces a fraction of a penny, the figure is rounded up to the next whole penny [3].
Working out the daily rate
SSP is paid per qualifying day, so payroll converts the weekly rate to a daily rate by dividing it by the number of qualifying days in the week [1]. For a five-day week at the flat rate, that is £123.25 divided by five, or £24.65 a day [3]. The table sets out the standard daily rates for the flat weekly rate across common working patterns.
| Qualifying days per week | Daily rate | 1 day | 2 days | 3 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | £17.61 | £17.61 | £35.22 | £52.83 |
| 5 | £24.65 | £24.65 | £49.30 | £73.95 |
| 4 | £30.82 | £30.82 | £61.63 | £92.44 |
| 3 | £41.09 | £41.09 | £82.17 | £123.25 |
| 2 | £61.63 | £61.63 | £123.25 | n/a |
| 1 | £123.25 | £123.25 | n/a | n/a |
The total SSP for a spell of absence is the daily rate multiplied by the number of qualifying days the employee was off. A payroll system that holds the HMRC Recognised badge applies this calculation automatically and files the result through Real Time Information, which most in-house UK payroll software now does as a single step.
Average weekly earnings
For anyone near or below the crossover point, the whole calculation hinges on average weekly earnings. This is where SSP most often goes wrong.
The 8-week relevant period
Average weekly earnings are calculated over a relevant period of the 8 weeks ending with the last normal payday before the sickness began [4]. Payroll totals all the gross pay processed in that window and divides it by the number of weeks it covers, which gives the baseline average weekly earnings [4]. For a monthly-paid employee the relevant period is the two monthly paydays before the absence, converted to a weekly figure.
A worked example makes this concrete. An employee earning £120 a week has average weekly earnings of £120, which is below the £154.06 crossover, so their SSP is 80% of £120, or £96.00 a week [2]. An employee earning £400 a week is above the crossover, so their SSP is capped at the flat £123.25 [1]. Where a new employee has fewer than 8 weeks of earnings, the employer uses the earnings actually paid, or a contractual estimate where none exists [4].
Because SSP counts as earnings, it is then subject to Income Tax and National Insurance in the normal way, a point covered in the Moonworkers article on whether sick pay is taxable. It also appears on the payslip, so a business issuing a one-off document can produce it with an instant payslip generator.
Notifying the employer and providing evidence
Payment is not automatic. The employee has to trigger it by telling the employer, and for longer absences by proving the sickness.
Telling the employer
An employee must notify the employer of the sickness within any deadline the employer has set, or within 7 days if the employer has set none [2]. The employer cannot insist notification is in a particular form, such as in person or on a special form, and cannot refuse SSP solely because notice was slightly late without good reason [9]. The notification should cover the reason for absence and how long the employee expects to be off.
Fit notes after 7 days
For the first 7 calendar days of sickness, an employee can self-certify and no medical evidence is needed [5]. Once the absence runs beyond 7 days, the employer can ask for a fit note from a doctor or other eligible healthcare professional [5]. An employer cannot withhold SSP simply because a fit note arrives late, and may accept evidence from a range of practitioners where it is satisfied the person is genuinely unfit [5].
Linked periods of sickness
Sickness rarely comes in a single tidy block, so the rules join separate spells together in defined circumstances.
Two periods of incapacity for work link into one continuous PIW where the gap between them is less than 56 days, or 8 weeks [10]. This matters for two reasons. First, linked spells count towards the same 28-week maximum rather than restarting the clock. Second, the average weekly earnings from the first PIW carry forward and continue to apply across all linked spells, so a pay rise between two linked absences does not raise the SSP rate [3].
The linking rule is one of the most commonly mishandled parts of SSP, because payroll teams recalculate earnings for the second absence when they should carry the first figure forward [10]. Accurate absence records are the only reliable defence, which is why accountants running payroll across many clients rely on a payroll bureau platform that tracks linked PIWs automatically.
Part-time, irregular and zero-hours workers
The reforms of 6 April 2026 pulled many part-time and casual workers into SSP for the first time, so the mechanics for irregular patterns now matter far more than they did.
A part-time worker is treated exactly like a full-time one, but with fewer qualifying days, which raises the value of each day. A worker doing two qualifying days a week receives £61.63 for each day at the flat rate, because the weekly rate is divided by two rather than five [3]. Their average weekly earnings are still measured over the same 8-week relevant period, so a low part-time wage often falls below the £154.06 crossover and produces an 80% rate rather than the flat cap [1].
Zero-hours and irregular workers raise the harder question of which days count as qualifying days, since there is no fixed rota to read them from. Where there is no set pattern, the employer and employee agree the qualifying days, and HMRC guidance points to using the days the worker would normally have worked as the fairest basis [2]. For a genuinely eligible zero-hours worker, refusing SSP on the grounds that no days were rostered is not a safe position, because the qualifying-day agreement exists precisely to handle that case [9]. Businesses that engage casual staff on variable rotas, common in hospitality and retail, need a payroll process that records agreed qualifying days per worker rather than assuming a uniform five-day week.
When SSP runs out
SSP is not open-ended. It stops at a fixed ceiling, and the employer has a specific duty at that point.
An employee can receive SSP for a maximum of 28 weeks in a single PIW or a set of linked PIWs [7]. When entitlement is coming to an end, the employer must issue form SSP1 so the employee can claim New-Style Employment and Support Allowance or, depending on circumstances, Universal Credit [6]. The timing of the SSP1 is set by rule, as the table shows.
| Situation | When to issue SSP1 |
|---|---|
| SSP entitlement is ending at 28 weeks | On or before the day SSP ends, and no later than 7 days after it stops |
| Employer knows in advance the absence will exceed 28 weeks | Can be issued early so the employee can apply for ESA before SSP ends |
| Employee never qualified for SSP | Within 7 days of deciding not to pay |
An employee can apply for ESA up to three months before SSP is due to end, which lets support continue without a gap [6]. Throughout, the employer must keep accurate records of sickness episodes and SSP paid, both to avoid over or underpaying and to have evidence ready if HMRC runs a compliance check [3].
Work out an SSP figure in seconds
Rather than run the flat-rate and 80% tests by hand for every absence, an employer can size the figure with the Moonworkers SSP calculator, which applies the 2026-27 rate, the qualifying-day split and the first-day rule to any working pattern.
Count every calendar day of sickness, including weekends and days off. If the employee is still off, enter today as the last day for the amount due so far.
Statutory Sick Pay due
£0.00
Three quick steps: the absence dates, the working pattern, then the last few payslips. The calculation updates here.
Sick pay handled automatically, from day one
Moonworkers applies the 2026 SSP rules on every payrun: average weekly earnings, the 80% taper, linked absences and the 28-week cap, all itemised on HMRC-compliant payslips.
Conclusion
The mechanics of SSP form a chain, and each link changes the number at the end. Qualifying days set what is paid, the flat-rate and 80% tests set the weekly rate, average weekly earnings decide which of those applies, and the linking rule ties separate spells together under a single 28-week ceiling. The 6 April 2026 reforms simplified the entry point by removing waiting days and the earnings floor, but they also drew millions of low-paid and short-absence workers into the scheme for the first time.
For a payroll team, that means SSP is calculated far more often than before, on smaller absences, for a wider range of earners. A system that resolves qualifying days, the 80% test and linked periods at source turns a fiddly manual calculation into a routine line on the payslip, and keeps the records that any later dispute or HMRC check will demand.
Frequently asked questions
How much statutory sick pay will an employee actually receive?
It depends on their average weekly earnings and their working pattern. The weekly rate is the lower of £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, and that weekly figure is divided by the number of qualifying days to get a daily rate. An employee off for three qualifying days on a five-day week at the flat rate receives three times £24.65, which is £73.95.
How are average weekly earnings worked out for SSP?
Payroll adds up all the gross pay in the relevant period of the 8 weeks ending with the last normal payday before the sickness began, then divides by the number of weeks. For a monthly-paid employee this uses the two monthly paydays before the absence, converted to a weekly figure. Where a new employee has less than 8 weeks of pay, the employer uses the earnings actually paid.
Does statutory sick pay start on the first day of illness?
Yes, for sickness starting on or after 6 April 2026. The Employment Rights Act 2025 abolished the three waiting days, so SSP is payable from the first qualifying day of absence. Before that date, the first three qualifying days were unpaid and SSP started on the fourth.
What happens when statutory sick pay reaches 28 weeks?
SSP ends at 28 weeks in a single or linked period of incapacity for work. The employer must give the employee form SSP1, which the employee uses to claim New-Style Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit. An employee can apply for ESA up to three months before SSP is due to end so there is no gap in support.
