If you are an employer you should be aware that from 6 April 2026 new rules apply for paying Statutory Sick Pay to employees.
All employees will be entitled to receive SSP from the day they start working for you. There will no longer be 3 unpaid waiting days before SSP is paid but up to and including 5 April 2026 the waiting days still apply.
In addition the lower earnings limit will be removed from 6 April 2026. Currently employees must earn above the Lower Earnings Limit of £125/week or £542/month to be eligible to receive Statutory Sick Pay.
The statutory amount payable to an employee on sick leave from 6 April 2026 will be £123.25, up from £118.75. Statutory Sick Pay is not recoverable from HMRC, unlike family related statutory payments.
Some employers will pay their employees normal pay for a period of time if that is set out in their contract of employment but it is still important to record the sickness absence in the payroll and top it up to normal pay for that period. This is because as an employer you are only required to pay your employee SSP for the first 28 weeks.
Employees working part time for you must still receive SSP for the days they are off sick and if they work in another job as well they will also be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay from that job too. Your employee will receive the full SSP entitlement for each week they are off work even if they don't work for you every day. Employees will still accrue holiday while they absent through sickness.
Whilst HMRC does not require you to keep records of sickness absence it makes sense for you to do this in case there is any dispute over payment amounts at a later date. If your contract states that a sick note or fit note is required after a set period of time in order to receive SSP then these must be received and retained as part of your employee's record.
Payroll legislation changes from year to year which is why we support numerous small businesses with their payroll and auto enrolment. Payroll is more than just pressing buttons. Knowledge and experience ensure the employers we work with do the right thing.
We work with business who have 1-50 employees so if you are considering outsourcing your payroll and auto enrolment, give us a call and see how we can help you. It doesn't matter where you are as we work with businesses across the UK. Now is the time to prepare for outsourcing from April 2026.
Call us on 01722 341820
