From 6 April 2026, the rules around Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) are changing significantly. If you employ people, these changes will affect how you calculate and pay SSP and some of the transitional rules are more complex than they might first appear! Here is a clear summary of what is changing and what you need to do.

What is changing

Under the ‘old’ rules, employees must earn above the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) to qualify for SSP, and the first three days of sickness absence are unpaid waiting days. Both of these rules are being abolished.

From 6 April 2026, SSP will be available to all eligible employees regardless of their earnings. It will be payable from the first full day of sickness, and the rate will be 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings (AWE) or the new flat rate of £123.25 per week - whichever is lower.

What you should do

Now is a good time to review your sickness/absence policies and make sure they reflect the new rules. It is also worth communicating the changes to your employees, so they are aware of their updated entitlements. If you don’t use Frost to prepare your payroll, check that your provider is ready for the changes.

Transitional rules - the detail that matters

The trickier part of these changes involves employees whose sickness absence spans the 6 April 2026 changeover date. The rules here depend on when the absence started and whether it has been continuous.

If an employee was not previously entitled to SSP because they earned below the LEL, they may become entitled from 6 April 2026, but only if their absence started on or after 22 September 2025, or if they had a return to work between 22 September 2025 and 5 April 2026.

An employee who has been off continuously since before 21 September 2025 will not become entitled to SSP on 6 April and will need to return to work for at least eight weeks before entitlement can begin again.

If an employee was serving waiting days when 6 April arrives, those waiting days fall away. SSP will not be paid retrospectively for waiting days before that date, but no further waiting days will apply from 6 April onwards.

If an employee returns to work before 6 April but then restarts a sickness absence on 4 or 5 April, the rules depend on how long the new absence lasts. If it runs to three days or fewer, SSP is only paid for qualifying days on or after 6 April. If it runs to four days or more, SSP is payable from the first day of that restarted absence.

Employees already receiving SSP

Anyone already receiving SSP before 6 April 2026 should simply be moved onto the new rate from that date. One thing to watch: if an employee's AWE would result in a lower SSP rate than the old flat rate, they should receive the new flat rate of£123.25 instead. This protection applies to employees who earn between £125 and £154.05 per week and were already off sick before 6 April. It remains in place until they return to work or their SSP entitlement ends, but if they later go off sick again after returning, the standard 80% AWE calculation applies to that new absence.

Finally, before paying SSP to any employee, check whether they have received Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) in the last 85 days - if so, they are not eligible.

Need help working through the numbers?

The transitional rules are genuinely complex and getting them wrong could mean underpaying or overpaying employees during the changeover period. If you would like help reviewing your payroll processes or working through a specific employee's situation, please get in touch - we are happy to help.

_{This is published for the information of clients. It provides only an overview of the regulations in force at the date of publication and no action should betaken without consulting the detailed legislation or seeking professional advice. Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material contained in this publication can be accepted by the authors or the firm.}

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