Statutory Sick Pay Waiting Days: What Replaced Them in 2026

Anyone who was off sick a year ago and is off again now will find the payslip behaves differently. The unpaid days at the front of an absence have gone, and so has the earnings threshold that used to shut lower paid staff out of the scheme completely.

What changed on 6 April 2026

Three rules went at once. The three waiting days were removed, so SSP starts on your first qualifying day. The four day rule went with them, because a period of incapacity for work is now a single day rather than four consecutive ones, so a two day absence can attract SSP where it previously attracted nothing at all. And the lower earnings limit was abolished, so entitlement no longer depends on averaging a minimum weekly wage first.

A qualifying day is simply a day you normally work. Go off sick on a Wednesday with a Monday to Friday pattern and Wednesday itself is paid, rather than the following Monday. Weekends still do not count for that worker, because they were never days you were due to work.

What the old waiting days used to cost

Worth knowing if you are checking a payslip from an absence that started before April 2026, because those still follow the previous rules. A Monday to Friday worker off for two full weeks used to be paid for 7 of the 10 qualifying days at £23.75 a day, which is £166.25. The same fortnight now pays all 10 days at £24.65, which is £246.50.

How the weekly amount is worked out

SSP is a weekly figure divided by the number of qualifying days in that week. The weekly figure is the lower of two numbers: the flat rate of £123.25, or 80% of your average weekly earnings over the eight weeks before the sickness began. The flat rate is set each April, so check the one in force on your first day of sickness.

The two numbers cross at about £154 a week, because 80% of £154 is £123.20, a whisker under the cap. Earn more than that and you get the flat rate. Earn less and the percentage applies instead: average £150 a week and your SSP is 80% of £150, which is £120, not £123.25.

A five day worker on the flat rate gets £123.25 divided by 5, or £24.65 a day. Two full weeks off is 10 qualifying days, so £246.50. Set against a normal wage that is still a jolt, and it is the number worth knowing before you decide whether you can afford to stay off.

Part-time and irregular patterns

The weekly figure does not shrink because you work fewer days, so the daily rate rises to compensate. Three days a week on the flat rate gives £123.25 divided by 3, which is £41.08 and a third of a penny, and three of those days add back to £123.25.

That means a full fortnight off pays £246.50 whichever pattern you work, because both people lose two whole weeks. The pattern only changes the answer for absences that do not cover whole weeks. Three days off costs the five day worker 3 times £24.65, or £73.95, while the same three days off for the three day worker is a complete week and pays the full £123.25.

Using the SSP calculator

Enter the first day of sickness and the last, then set which days of the week you normally work. Add your average weekly earnings and the calculator runs the 80% test for you instead of assuming you land on the flat rate. The output shows your qualifying days, the weekly figure it used, the daily rate and the total.

Set the start date to the day the sickness actually began rather than the day you reported it, because absences beginning before 6 April 2026 are still worked out under the old waiting day rules. SSP counts as earnings, so it goes through PAYE with tax and National Insurance deducted like any other pay, which the UK take home pay calculator guide and our explainer on how National Insurance works both cover.

Linked periods of sickness

Two spells of sickness that begin within eight weeks of each other are linked and treated as one period. That no longer changes what you are paid at the start of the second spell, since there are no waiting days left to serve, but it still matters for the 28 week ceiling: linked spells share a single 28 week allowance rather than each one starting a fresh count.

Common questions

Do I still have to be off four days before SSP starts? No. That requirement ended on 6 April 2026. A single qualifying day of sickness is now enough, so a one day absence can be paid where it previously was not.

Do weekends count? Only if you normally work them. SSP is paid per qualifying day, and a day you never work is not a qualifying day.

How long does SSP last? Up to 28 weeks in a single period of sickness, or across linked periods. After that your employer issues form SSP1 so you can look into other support.

Can my employer pay more than SSP? Yes. Contractual sick pay sits on top, and it usually includes the SSP rather than adding to it, so read the wording in your contract instead of assuming the two stack.

Do I need a doctor's note? You can self certify for the first seven calendar days of absence. After that an employer can ask for a fit note from a GP.