How to work out statutory sick pay under the new rules

Last checked 17 Oct 2026. Great Britain only. Dates can change.

Statutory sick pay (SSP) is the lower of the weekly rate or 80 percent of the employee's average weekly earnings, paid for each qualifying day they are off sick. Since 6 April 2026 there are no waiting days and no lower earnings limit. GOV.UK gives the weekly rate as £123.25 for 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Check the current figure on GOV.UK before you pay anyone.

How long this takes

Ten minutes per case once you have the pay records. For a simple case, GOV.UK's own SSP calculator is quicker. GOV.UK says that where there is more than one linked period you need to work SSP out manually.

What changed in April 2026

The GOV.UK timeline says the lower earnings limit and the waiting period were removed on 6 April 2026. SSP is now paid from the first qualifying day of sickness, not the fourth. See changes already live from April 2026.

Steps

1. Check the employee qualifies. They must be an employee who has done some work for you and been sick for at least one full working day. They must also give notice and proof when needed. GOV.UK lists exclusions, such as having used up 28 weeks of SSP.
2. Find the period of sickness. All days count in a period of incapacity for work, including weekends. Two periods are linked if the gap between them is 56 days (eight weeks) or less. For a linked period, use the average weekly earnings worked out for the first period. Do not recalculate them even if pay has changed. The flat weekly rate itself can change each April.
3. Identify the qualifying days. These are the days the employee is contracted to work. GOV.UK sets fallback rules if you cannot agree them, for example Wednesday is the qualifying day where there are no agreed working days.
4. Find the relevant period. It ends on the last normal payday before the first full day of sickness and starts the day after the payday at least eight weeks earlier.
5. Work out average weekly earnings. Include all earnings on which Class 1 National Insurance is due or would be due if pay were higher. If paid weekly, add up the earnings in the period and divide by 8. If paid monthly, add up the earnings, divide by 2, multiply by 12 and divide by 52. Do not round the result.
6. Pick the weekly rate. Take 80 percent of the average weekly earnings and compare it with £123.25. Pay the lower.
7. Work out the daily rate for part weeks. Divide the weekly rate by the number of qualifying days in that week, then multiply by the qualifying days they were off sick. A full SSP week runs from Sunday to Saturday.
8. Pay it with their normal wages on the usual payday, with tax and National Insurance deducted.

New starters with fewer than eight weeks of pay, mid period changes of pay pattern and other special cases have their own rules on the GOV.UK manual calculation page.

Worked examples

All people and figures here are fictional. The arithmetic follows the method above.

Priya, paid weekly, earns above the cap. Her pay over the eight week relevant period is £1,320.00 in total. £1,320.00 divided by 8 is £165.00 average weekly earnings. 80 percent of that is £132.00. The weekly rate is £123.25, which is lower, so she is paid £123.25 for a full SSP week. In a part week she works five qualifying days and is off sick for two. The daily rate is £123.25 divided by 5, which is £24.65. Two days is £49.30.

Tom, paid weekly, earns below the cap. His pay over eight weeks totals £1,000.00. That is £125.00 a week. 80 percent is £100.00, which is lower than £123.25, so his weekly rate is £100.00. He works four qualifying days a week and is off sick for three in a part week. The daily rate is £100.00 divided by 4, which is £25.00. Three days is £75.00.

Sam, paid monthly. His pay in the two months of the relevant period is £1,800.00 and £1,900.00, a total of £3,700.00. Half is £1,850.00, times 12 is £22,200.00, divided by 52 gives average weekly earnings of about £426.92 (keep the unrounded figure, 426.9230, in your working). 80 percent is about £341.54, which is higher than £123.25, so his weekly rate is £123.25.

Daily rates from GOV.UK for the standard weekly rate are shown unrounded on its rates and thresholds page. For example, six qualifying days gives £20.5416 a day. Its manual guide rounds to the penny in its examples, so decide how your payroll rounds and apply it consistently.

What to record

• The first and last day of each period of sickness, and any linking to earlier periods
• The qualifying days agreed with the employee
• The relevant period, the earnings used and the average weekly earnings
• The weekly rate used, and the date you checked it on GOV.UK
• The daily rate and the number of days paid
• The date of payment

Common mistakes

• Applying three waiting days or the old lower earnings limit.
• Using a weekly rate from an earlier tax year.
• Paying £123.25 to everyone without testing the 80 percent rule.
• Rounding average weekly earnings.
• Counting every calendar day, not just qualifying days.
• Forgetting that two periods within eight weeks of each other link.
• Treating company sick pay as the same as SSP. Employers can pay more than SSP, but not less.

This guide is general information to help you prepare, not legal advice. Check the current rules and rate on GOV.UK, or ask your payroll provider.

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