From 6 April 2026, the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rules changed.
- SSP is now payable from day one of absence
- There are no waiting days
- All staff will be paid SSP no matter which type of contract they are on and no matter how much they earn per week. They do not need to earn over the lower earnings level (LEL £129/week – this changes every April) to be paid.
- They also do not need to be over a certain age or “earn minimum wage” to qualify – one of the answers at a recent quiz.
- However, the amount of SSP to be paid is different, depending on earnings. Either:
- 80% of their average weekly earnings if they earn under the LEL; or
- The “normal” SSP amount of £123.25 if they earn over it.
They can self-certify sickness absence for the first 7 calendar days. This is not new, but some of you need a reminder on this.
After the first seven calendar days, they are required to provide a Fit Note to cover their absence. No Fit Note, no pay. “I will get it to you” does not count!! Do not pay until it is in your inbox or your grubby hands.
So far, so good.
All financial details should be dealt with by your payroll software, which should automatically pay staff the correct amount.
But the biggest change for employers is that you definitely need to log all sickness absence, of all staff, no matter what type of contract they are on. And put it in payroll.
Some of our clients have not been logging zero-hour employee sickness absence in the restaurants because it was unpaid. You need to know why staff are off and whether any of the reasons relate to their working environment. This is to prevent any claims going forward.
And at the other extreme, some staff have been paid full pay for all sickness absence despite only SSP being in their contracts, because their line manager forgot to tell payroll that staff were off (head greenkeepers, I’m looking at you…).
And logging holiday and sickness absence should NOT be on a whiteboard.
It is 2026, people, there are many apps out there, easy to set up and use, to log and keep an eye on absence. We use The Holiday Tracker, which is great for smaller organisations. Whatever app you use, please use one. Wall charts and Excel sheets are no longer acceptable.
