Calculate Your UK Sick Pay 2026.
UK Statutory Sick Pay
Calculator
Calculate exactly how much SSP you or your employee is entitled to under the latest Employment Rights Act 2025 rules.
SSP now starts from Day 1 (no more 3-day wait) & the Lower Earnings Limit has been removed — all employees now qualify regardless of earnings.
Select the days your employee normally works. SSP is only paid for these days.
| Week | Qualifying Days | SSP Amount | Status |
|---|
The eligibility rules have been significantly simplified. More workers now qualify for SSP than ever before.
✅ Who qualifies (from April 2026)
- All employees regardless of earnings
- Part-time workers
- Zero-hours contract workers
- Agency workers (via agency)
- Eligible from Day 1 of sickness
- Those earning below LEL (80% rate)
❌ Who does NOT qualify
- Self-employed individuals
- Directors (usually)
- Employees in custody
- Those on strike during sickness
- Workers who haven't notified employer
- Those beyond 28 weeks in same PIW
📋 Notification rules
You must notify your employer as soon as possible. Employers can set their own notification deadline — if they don't, the default is 7 calendar days after the first day of sickness.
🔗 Linked periods
Two periods of sickness separated by 56 days (8 weeks) or less are treated as one continuous period for SSP purposes — the 28-week maximum applies across all linked periods.
| Tax Year | Weekly Rate | Day 1 Right | LEL Required | Max Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 ✦ | £123.25 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Removed | 28 weeks |
| 2025/26 | £118.75 | ✗ Day 4 | ✗ £125/wk | 28 weeks |
| 2024/25 | £116.35 | ✗ Day 4 | ✗ £123/wk | 28 weeks |
| 2023/24 | £109.40 | ✗ Day 4 | ✗ £123/wk | 28 weeks |
| 2022/23 | £99.35 | ✗ Day 4 | ✗ £123/wk | 28 weeks |
✦ Current year. Source: GOV.UK / HMRC / Employment Rights Act 2025
SSP daily rate = Weekly rate ÷ Number of qualifying days per week
| Qualifying Days/Week | Daily Rate | Typical Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day | £123.25 | 1 day/week |
| 2 days | £61.63 | 2 days/week |
| 3 days | £41.08 | 3 days/week |
| 4 days | £30.81 | 4 days/week |
| 5 days | £24.65 | Standard Mon–Fri |
| 6 days | £20.54 | 6 days/week |
| 7 days | £17.61 | 7 days/week |
📐 How SSP is calculated
- Identify qualifying days (normal working days)
- From 6 April 2026: SSP starts from Day 1
- If AWE < £123.25/wk: pay lower of £123.25 or 80% AWE
- Daily rate = weekly rate ÷ qualifying days per week
- Multiply daily rate × qualifying sick days
- Round fractions of a penny up
💰 Can employers pay more?
Yes. Employers can offer Occupational Sick Pay (OSP) which exceeds SSP. They cannot pay less than the statutory minimum.
After 28 weeks of SSP, employees may claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) from DWP.
📑 Fit notes (formerly sick notes)
For periods of 7 days or less, self-certification is sufficient. For longer absences, a fit note (Statement of Fitness for Work) from a GP or other healthcare provider is required.
⚠️ Fair Work Agency
From 7 April 2026, the government launched the Fair Work Agency with powers to enforce SSP compliance. Employers who underpay SSP risk investigation and penalties.
Use the Calculator tab to get started.
Navigating the New Rules: Ultimate Statutory Sick Pay Calculator UK Guide
Falling ill is never planned, and when it affects your ability to work, understanding your financial safety net shouldn't feel like solving a complex puzzle. In the United Kingdom, workplace rules took a monumental shift with the implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025. If you are wondering exactly how much statutory sick pay will i get uk or how these massive legal shifts affect your next paycheck, you have landed in the perfect place.
Our completely free, up-to-date statutory sick pay calculator uk is engineered to eliminate the guesswork. Whether you are an employee keeping track of your budget or looking for a reliable ssp calculator for employers uk to ensure your business remains legally compliant, this guide will walk you through every metric, rule change, and calculation formula step-by-step.
How to Use the Online SSP Calculator: A Step-by-Step Guide
We designed our interactive tool to be as intuitive as possible while maintaining absolute mathematical precision under the hood. To calculate ssp online uk seamlessly, just follow these simple guidelines:
- Step 1 Enter Gross Weekly Earnings: Input your average pre-tax income over the last 8 weeks. This amount dictates whether you get the standard flat rate or the brand-new earnings-tied safety percentage.
- Step 2 Pick the Sick Leave Start Date: Use the calendar input to select the precise first day of your consecutive sickness absence. This element anchors your entire timeline projection.
- Step 3 Specify Number of Sick Days: Fill in the total consecutive calendar days you have been away from your duties due to medical reasons.
- Step 4 Toggle the Tax Year: Select the relevant tax bracket. Our tool dynamically updates to process parameters for both the current statutory sick pay calculator 2026/27 criteria and the legacy 2025/26 guidelines.
- Step 5 Map Your Working Pattern: Check or uncheck the specific days of the week you normally work. This is vital because sick pay is only legally paid out on these designated qualifying days.
Elaborating on Every Feature of Our SSP Tool
This isn't just a basic input form; our sick pay calculator uk features an extensive architecture to give you a complete historical and breakdown analysis of your employment rights:
The 80 Percent Average Weekly Earnings Safeguard
If you are looking at the 80 percent average weekly earnings ssp calculator metrics, our engine automatically checks your threshold. For individuals with low earnings who previously didn't qualify for sick coverage, the system computes 80% of your entered average earnings and contrasts it against the standard statutory flat rate, keeping you perfectly secure under the modern guidelines.
Dynamic Live Timeline Visuals
As soon as you execute the script, a stylized timeline indicator tracking your duration visually populates across the viewport. It monitors the precise percentage of the legal 28-week maximum allowance you are consuming, helping both staff and human resource managers track when entitlement windows are nearing their structural endpoint.
The Interactive Sickness History Tab
Need to run multiple simulations for different members of staff or compare distinct recovery intervals? The calculator uses structural local storage parameters to automatically cache your recent queries. You can easily switch onto the History Tab to verify past payroll simulations without ever having to re-enter your figures from scratch.
Understanding the Modern UK Sick Pay Landscape (2025 vs. 2026)
The roll-out of the new ssp rules 2026 calculator models highlights a profound simplification of worker protections across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. If you happen to be analyzing records across contrasting periods, the mechanical updates matter significantly.
To highlight the depth of these updates, look at the clear comparison table below detailing how the ssp calculator no lower earnings limit ecosystem scales against the historic platform rules:
| Regulatory Policy Component | Old Framework (Tax Year 2025/26) | New Framework (Tax Year 2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly Statutory Rate | £118.75 | £123.25 |
| Waiting Period Constraint | 3 Unpaid Waiting Days (Paid on Day 4) | Immediate Day 1 Entitlement Rights |
| Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) | Must earn at least £123/week to qualify | Abolished (All earnings covered via 80% rule) |
| Maximum Benefit Term | 28 Weeks Total Allocation | 28 Weeks Total Allocation |
Did you know? Because the mandatory threshold constraint has been officially phased out, a part time worker sick pay calculator uk or a specialized casual worker statutory sick pay calculator profile will now register valid, positive monetary outputs where they used to return zero allocation values.
How to Calculate Statutory Sick Pay 2026 Manually
While utilizing our automated suite is the safest way to avoid computational human slip-ups, learning how to calculate ssp manually 2026 can empower you to audit your payslips cleanly. The mathematical structure relies on your specific weekly layout pattern:
- Determine the applicable weekly base rate (£123.25 for standard earners or 80% of AWE for low earners).
- Count your specific qualifying days (the standard working contract schedule) within a normal 7-day week.
- Divide the overall weekly rate by the count of those qualifying days to isolate your exact daily statutory rate.
- Multiply that freshly derived daily figure by the specific number of working days missed due to illness.
If you manage unusual work structures, a dedicated ssp calculator for zero hours contract uk framework applies the same rules. If an employee has an irregular pattern but was clearly rostered or expected to work on a day within the sick leave timeline, that specific date must be treated as a valid qualifying day for statutory processing.
Frequently Asked Questions & Eligibility Checkpoints
Do I qualify for SSP if I have a low regular income?
Yes, absolutely. Under the modern ssp day 1 rights calculator uk parameters, there is no lower income restriction block. If your average income is below the standard weekly cap, the system switches smoothly to award you the lower threshold option of exactly 80% of your ordinary earnings value.
What exactly is a Linked Period of Sickness?
If you have multiple absences that are separated by 56 calendar days (8 weeks) or fewer, UK regulations dictate they must be systematically linked together as one continuous Period of Incapacity for Work (PIW). This prevents individual allocations from resetting and ensures the 28-week maximum cap isn't exceeded illegally.
Can an employer choose to pay me more than the tool displays?
Yes. Many businesses across the UK provide Occupational Sick Pay (OSP), which acts as a top-up balance matching your full traditional salary for a set number of weeks. However, an employer cannot legally pay you less than the minimum baseline computed by our check my ssp entitlement online application module.
Disclaimer: This comprehensive informational content is meant exclusively to explain the mechanical usage of our processing tools. For formal structural payroll administration audits or legal dispute evaluations, always consult official guidance at GOV.UK or verify procedures with a certified employment legal advisor.
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