Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Changes April 2026

Matt Jennings Updated by Matt Jennings

This article covers the legislative changes that have come into force on the 6th April 2026.

As part of the Employment's Rights Act 2025, Statutory Sick Pay changes come into force on 6th April 2026. These changes are:

  1. Removal of waiting days - This means that employees are eligible for SSP payments from the first day of a period of incapacity for work. This will be reflected in the diary, where a PIW now only needs to be day length of one in order to qualify for SSP whereas previously it would have needed to be four days in length
  2. Removal of Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) requirement/test - From 6th April, employees no longer need to have average weekly earnings above the LEL in order to receive SSP. The rate of SSP will be 80% of an employee’s average weekly earnings or the current flat rate, whichever is lower
  3. Updating of the Statutory Sick Pay flat rate to £123.25

There are transitional rules that apply for employees that are sick prior to the 6th of April either in a continuous or linked absence. The DWP have shared their transitional rules which have been built into the system, which you can read here.

Employees who earn between the LEL (£125.00) and £154.05 will now receive less SSP under the new rules.

Detailed guidance on how SSP is calculated can be found here.

Examples

Employee who will receive less

An employee goes off Sick on the 6th April. Their average weekly earnings are £140.00.

Under the new rules they will receive 80% of their Average weekly earnings which is £112.00 per week as opposed to the flat rate they would have previously received

Transitional Rules for employee who would receive less

An employee goes off Sick on the 16th March until 19th April. Their average weekly earnings are £140.00

Under the transitional rules, as they would have received the full flat rate of SSP in the tax year to 5th April 2026, they will receive the new flat rate until the end of their continuous absence. If the employee goes back to work for one day on the 20th April and then goes back on sick leave from the 21st April, the SSP rate to use from the 21st of April will be 80% of £140.00.

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