Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is £116.75 per week in 2025/26 and must be paid to eligible employees from the fourth consecutive day of absence (the first three days are unpaid waiting days). SSP lasts for up to 28 weeks. Employers cannot reclaim SSP from HMRC — it is a cost the employer bears. Employees earning below the Lower Earnings Limit (£123 per week) do not qualify for SSP.
What is Statutory Sick Pay?
SSP is the legal minimum amount employers must pay employees who are off sick. It is a flat weekly rate — currently £116.75 for the 2025/26 tax year — regardless of the employee's actual salary.
Many employers pay occupational sick pay (OSP) on top of or instead of SSP. OSP is not a legal requirement — it is a contractual benefit. If you do not have an OSP scheme, SSP is your minimum obligation.
SSP eligibility — who qualifies?
An employee qualifies for SSP if they meet all four conditions:
| Condition | Requirement | |---|---| | Employment status | Employee (not worker or self-employed) | | Earnings | Average weekly earnings of at least £123 (the Lower Earnings Limit) | | Duration of sickness | Sick for 4 or more consecutive days (including weekends and non-working days) | | Notification | Told you within the time stated in their contract (or within 7 days if not stated) |
Agency workers, employees on zero hours contracts who earn enough, and employees on fixed-term contracts can all qualify. Directors who are employees also qualify.
Waiting days — the first 3 days are unpaid
SSP does not start from day one of absence. The first 3 "qualifying days" (days the employee normally works) are waiting days — they are not paid.
SSP starts from the 4th qualifying day of absence.
Example: An employee who works Monday to Friday falls ill on Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are waiting days. SSP starts on Friday.
If the same employee is off sick again within 8 weeks of returning to work, the two periods are "linked" — no further waiting days apply, and SSP restarts from day one.
SSP rates (2026)
| Tax year | SSP weekly rate | Daily rate (divide by qualifying days per week) | |---|---|---| | 2025/26 | £116.75 | £23.35 (5-day week) | | 2024/25 | £116.75 | £23.35 | | 2023/24 | £109.40 | £21.88 |
SSP is paid for qualifying days — the days the employee normally works. If an employee works 3 days a week, they receive 3/5 of the weekly rate for each week they are off.
How long does SSP last?
SSP lasts for a maximum of 28 weeks for a single period of incapacity, or for linked periods of incapacity.
Once SSP is exhausted, the employee should be directed to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) from the DWP. You must give them an SSP1 form when SSP ends or is not payable.
Fit notes — what you must and must not do
From 1 July 2022, fit notes can be certified by nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and pharmacists — not only GPs.
You can ask for a fit note from the employee for absences lasting more than 7 consecutive days. You cannot require a fit note for absences of 7 days or fewer — the employee can self-certify.
A fit note may say one of two things:
- "Not fit for work" — the employee cannot work at all
- "May be fit for work" — the employee may be able to work with adjustments (e.g. reduced hours, different duties)
If a fit note says "may be fit for work", discuss the suggested adjustments with the employee. If the adjustments are not possible, the note is treated as "not fit for work".
Returning to work
When an employee returns after sickness absence, a return-to-work interview is good practice (and in many workplaces, required by policy). It:
- Confirms the reason for absence
- Identifies any adjustments needed
- Helps identify patterns of absence if the Bradford Factor is being tracked
- Shows the employee that absences are monitored
KornerIQ records absence periods, reason codes, and return dates — giving you a complete absence history per employee to refer to in return-to-work meetings and Bradford Factor calculations.
Long-term sickness — your obligations
After 4 weeks of continuous absence, an employee is considered to be on long-term sick. Your obligations increase:
- Duty to make reasonable adjustments if the condition amounts to a disability under the Equality Act 2010
- Keep in contact regularly — but do not make contact so frequent that it pressures the employee
- Obtain an occupational health report if the absence is prolonged and you need to understand the prognosis
- Consider a phased return if the employee is ready to return but not yet at full capacity
- Follow a fair dismissal process if the absence is so prolonged that the position cannot be held open — this requires careful process and usually a written warning that the role may not be held indefinitely
Dismissing an employee for long-term sickness without following a proper procedure — including exploring alternatives and giving fair warning — is unfair dismissal.
Can I reclaim SSP from HMRC?
No. HMRC removed the SSP rebate scheme in 2014. Employers bear the full cost of SSP.
The only exception was the temporary COVID-19 SSP rebate scheme (2020-2022), which has now closed.
Frequently asked questions
What if an employee refuses to submit a fit note? You can withhold SSP if the employee has not provided the required medical evidence. For absences up to 7 days, self-certification is sufficient. For longer absences, you can require a fit note. If the employee refuses and you withhold SSP, they can dispute this through HMRC's dispute resolution process.
Can I include a contractual sick pay scheme that is less than SSP? No. SSP is the statutory minimum. Any contractual scheme must pay at least SSP. You cannot contract out of SSP obligations.
What happens to SSP during a zero hours worker's sick period? Zero hours workers qualify for SSP if they are employees (not just workers) and earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit. The SSP calculation uses average earnings over the 8 weeks before the sick period.
Does SSP count as a "week's pay" for redundancy calculations? No. Weeks where the employee only received SSP (and no normal pay) are excluded from the average weekly pay calculation for redundancy.
What is an SSP1 form and when do I issue it? An SSP1 form is the form you give an employee when SSP is not payable or has run out. They need it to claim ESA. You must issue it within 7 days of SSP ending or of confirming SSP is not payable.