The Statutory Sick Pay rate for 2026/27 is £123.25 a week or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. It has applied since 6 April 2026, when the flat rate rose from £118.75 and the Employment Rights Act 2025 changed how SSP works: it is now paid from the first day of sickness, and there is no longer a minimum earnings test. The maximum is still 28 weeks.
The 2026/27 SSP rate at a glance
Section 157(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, as substituted from 6 April 2026, sets the weekly rate as "the lower of— (a) £123.25, and (b) 80% of the employee's normal weekly earnings". HMRC's employer rates page for 2026 to 2027 states the same figure. The rate applies to Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own legislation.
| Item | 2026/27 (from 6 April 2026) | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly rate | £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, if lower | £118.75 flat rate |
| First day SSP is paid | First qualifying day of sickness | Fourth qualifying day (three waiting days) |
| Minimum earnings to qualify | None | Lower earnings limit (£125 a week) |
| Maximum period | 28 weeks | 28 weeks |
The 80% limb is the important change. Under the old rules an employee either qualified for the full flat rate or got nothing. Now everyone who meets the other conditions qualifies, and lower earners receive 80% of their average pay instead. As an illustration, the 80% figure is the lower one whenever average weekly earnings are below about £154.06 (£123.25 ÷ 0.8). Above that, the employee gets the flat £123.25.
Daily rates by qualifying days
SSP is paid only for qualifying days, which are normally the days the employee is contracted to work. Section 157(3) sets the daily amount as the weekly rate divided by the number of qualifying days in that week. A week runs from Sunday to Saturday. These are HMRC's published amounts at the standard weekly rate:
| Qualifying days in the week | Unrounded daily rate |
|---|---|
| 7 | £17.6071 |
| 6 | £20.5416 |
| 5 | £24.65 |
| 4 | £30.8125 |
| 3 | £41.0833 |
| 2 | £61.625 |
| 1 | £123.25 |
Where the 80% limb applies, the employee has their own weekly rate. You divide that rate by the same number of qualifying days instead of using the table.
Working out average weekly earnings
Whether the 80% limb bites depends on average weekly earnings (AWE) over the "relevant period". HMRC's guidance on working out SSP manually sets out the method:
- End of the period. The last normal payday before the first complete day of sickness;
- Start of the period. The day after the last normal payday falling at least 8 weeks before that;
- What counts. All earnings on which Class 1 National Insurance is due, or would be due if pay were high enough. Under salary sacrifice, use the pay actually received after the sacrifice;
- Weekly paid staff. Add up the earnings in the period and divide by the number of weeks;
- Monthly paid staff. Divide the period's earnings by the number of months, multiply by 12 and divide by 52, without rounding to whole pence;
- New starters. If there are not yet 8 weeks of pay, use the earnings paid so far. If nothing has been paid, use contractual pay.
The rate is fixed at the start of the first period of sickness. If later absences link to it (gaps of 8 weeks or less), the same rate carries through even if earnings have changed.
Worked illustration
This is an illustration, not an HMRC example. A part-time employee works Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Their AWE over the relevant period is £140, so 80% gives £112.00. That is lower than £123.25, so £112.00 is their weekly SSP rate. With three qualifying days, each day of sickness is worth £37.3333. If they are off sick for one full week, they receive £112.00. If they are off for Monday only, they receive one day's amount.
A full-time colleague on £600 a week would get the flat £123.25, because 80% of their AWE (£480) is higher.
How long SSP lasts and what it costs the employer
The cap is 28 weeks in any period of entitlement. Section 155(4) expresses it as 28 times the weekly rate. At the flat rate, that works out at £3,451 (illustrative arithmetic). Periods of sickness 8 weeks or less apart are linked and count towards the same 28 weeks. A linked series that lasts more than 3 years ends entitlement.
Points to build into payroll:
- It is taxable pay. SSP goes through payroll on the normal payday, with tax and National Insurance deducted as for wages;
- No recovery. HMRC's 2026/27 rates page is explicit: "You cannot recover Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)". The 92% and 109% recovery rates on that page apply only to the family-related statutory payments, such as maternity and paternity pay;
- Contractual schemes. You can pay more than SSP under a company sick pay scheme, but never less;
- Notification. If you have not set a deadline for employees to report sickness, the default is 7 days. You can ask for a fit note only after more than 7 days in a row, counting non-working days.
Absences that straddled 6 April 2026
HMRC published transitional rules for sickness that started before 6 April 2026 and continued afterwards. Employees already on SSP moved to the new rate from 6 April. Where the 80% calculation would have cut their pay, because they earned between £125 and £154.05 a week, they stay on the flat rate until they return to work or their entitlement ends. Low earners who were excluded under the old lower earnings limit may have become entitled from 6 April 2026, depending on when their absence began. Waiting days falling before 6 April 2026 are not paid. Check any long-running absences against HMRC's transition guidance before treating them as settled.
When SSP is not due, or is about to run out, the employer has to issue form SSP1 within set time limits. Our SSP1 form guide covers those deadlines. For pension contributions on sick pay, see is SSP pensionable.
Getting the rate right in payroll
The common errors since April are software still applying waiting days to a manual override, low earners being refused SSP under the old earnings test, and AWE being worked out from the wrong relevant period. Check the qualifying days on the employee's record and keep the AWE working for each absence. It is the evidence you will need if the HMRC Statutory Payment Disputes Team becomes involved. The HMRC rates and thresholds for 2026 to 2027 and section 157 of the 1992 Act are the primary references.
Acumon runs statutory payments, including SSP, as part of its outsourced payroll service and can review historic sick pay calculations through a payroll audit. If your sickness policy still mentions waiting days or a minimum earnings level, it pre-dates April 2026 and needs updating.