Sick Pay Waiting Days: What Changed and Why
Until 6 April 2026, the first three qualifying days of any sickness absence were unpaid, known as waiting days, and Statutory Sick Pay only began on the fourth day [2]. That rule was abolished by the Employment Rights Act 2025, and SSP is now payable from the first full day of sickness absence [3].
The change is one of two structural reforms to sick pay that took effect on the same date, alongside the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit. Together they brought a large group of low-paid and short-term absences into SSP for the first time [3].
This article explains what waiting days were, how the old rule worked, what replaced it, and what the shift to day-one payment means for employers managing sickness absence.
Key takeaways
- Waiting days were the first three qualifying days of a sickness absence, for which no Statutory Sick Pay was due.
- From 6 April 2026, waiting days were abolished and SSP is payable from the first full day of sickness.
- The weekly SSP rate for the 2026-27 tax year is £123.25, or 80% of average weekly earnings where that is lower.
- The government expects day-one payment to cut presenteeism, where staff work while unwell and spread illness.
- Absence that began under the old rules and continued past 6 April 2026 followed specific transitional treatment.
What waiting days were
Under the rules that applied until 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay was not payable for the first three qualifying days in a period of incapacity for work [2]. Only qualifying days, the days an employee normally worked, could count as waiting days, so an employee off sick over a weekend might serve their waiting days across several calendar days [2].
Waiting days only had to be served once across a period of incapacity for work or a series of linked periods [4]. Two absences separated by eight weeks or less linked together and counted as one period, so an employee did not serve a fresh three days each time they returned and fell ill again within that window [2].
The practical effect was that a short illness of three days or fewer attracted no SSP at all, and a longer absence lost its first three qualifying days of pay. Built into HMRC-recognised payroll software for SMEs, the waiting-day count ran automatically against each employee's qualifying days.
What changed on 6 April 2026
The Employment Rights Act 2025 removed waiting days entirely [6]. Statutory Sick Pay is now payable from the first full working day of sickness, so the three-day gap before payment has gone [3]. The reform sits alongside a new earnings formula: SSP is paid at the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings for the 2026-27 tax year, one of several points covered in the overview of what changed in the SSP reform [1].
The table below sets the old and new positions side by side.
| Feature | Until 5 April 2026 | From 6 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Day SSP starts | Fourth qualifying day | First full day of sickness |
| Unpaid waiting days | First 3 qualifying days | None |
| Earnings eligibility test | Above the Lower Earnings Limit | All employees, no lower limit |
| Weekly rate | Flat rate only | Lower of flat rate or 80% of average weekly earnings |
The government confirmed the 80% figure in its response to the Making Work Pay consultation, having weighed it against costs to business and security for low-paid staff [7]. A payroll bureau platform running many client schemes had to apply the new day-one logic across every employer at once on the reform date.
How absences across the reform date were handled
Absences that began before 6 April 2026 and continued past it followed transitional rules. An employee partway through serving waiting days on 6 April no longer had to complete them, and SSP became payable from the first qualifying day on or after that date [3]. An employee already receiving SSP simply moved to the new weekly rate [3].
Employees who had been ineligible because they earned below the Lower Earnings Limit could also become entitled from 6 April, with their average weekly earnings based on the period before the sickness began [3]. The qualifying conditions otherwise stayed the same: a contract of service, some work done under it, and proper notice of sickness, as set out in the guide to what Statutory Sick Pay is [5].
Why the waiting period was removed
The stated aim of removing waiting days was to reduce presenteeism, where employees come to work while unwell because they cannot afford to lose pay [7]. The government argued that day-one payment supports phased returns to work and helps people stay in employment rather than fall into long-term absence [9].
For employers, the immediate consequence is that more absences now carry a cost. A two-day illness that previously triggered no SSP now generates a payment, and because SSP is not recoverable from HMRC, the employer absorbs it in full [1]. Accurate day-one tracking through an HMRC-recognised payroll API keeps the figures right without manual reconfiguration each tax year.
Conclusion
The removal of waiting days closed a 40-year-old feature of the sick pay system that left the start of every absence unpaid. Replacing it with day-one payment, combined with the loss of the Lower Earnings Limit, means SSP now reaches further into the workforce and into shorter absences than at any point since the scheme began in 1983.
For payroll teams, the practical task is straightforward but unforgiving: every qualifying day of sickness now counts from the first, and the cost falls entirely on the employer. Absence policies written around the old three-day buffer need rereading, because the buffer no longer exists.
Frequently asked questions
Are there still waiting days for Statutory Sick Pay?
No. Waiting days were abolished on 6 April 2026 by the Employment Rights Act 2025. Statutory Sick Pay is now payable from the first full day of sickness absence, rather than from the fourth day as under the old rules [3]. The first three qualifying days are no longer unpaid [2].
How many days did an employee have to wait for SSP before the change?
Before 6 April 2026, the first three qualifying days of a sickness absence were unpaid waiting days, and SSP began on the fourth qualifying day [2]. Waiting days only had to be served once across a period of incapacity for work or a series of linked periods [4].
Does an employer pay SSP for a one-day absence now?
If the absence is a full working day and the employee meets the qualifying conditions, SSP is payable from that first day [1]. The amount is the daily rate, calculated as the weekly rate divided by the number of qualifying days in that week [2].
Can an employer reclaim the cost of the removed waiting days?
No. Statutory Sick Pay is not recoverable from HMRC, so the employer bears the full cost of every qualifying day, including the days that were previously unpaid waiting days [1]. This is different from family-related statutory payments, which smaller employers can recover [5].
