Statutory Sick Pay Calculator

Statutory Sick Pay Calculator: SSP Rates from 6 April 2026

This statutory sick pay calculator works out the SSP due for a period of sickness under the rules in force from 6 April 2026, and shows the working week by week.

This is general information for Great Britain and is not legal, tax or financial advice. It treats the absence as a new period of sickness and assumes the employee qualifies for SSP. Check the result with the GOV.UK Statutory Sick Pay calculator for employers. An employer’s own sick pay scheme can pay more than SSP.

How much is SSP? Sick pay calculator UK rules explained

The Employment Rights Act 2025 changed Statutory Sick Pay on 6 April 2026. Three things are different from the old rules.

• The weekly amount is £123.25 or 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Someone who earns £154.07 a week or more gets the full £123.25.
• SSP is paid from the first qualifying day of sickness. The three unpaid waiting days no longer apply.
• The lower earnings limit of £125 a week has gone. Employees on low pay now qualify and get 80% of their earnings.

The limit of 28 weeks of SSP has not changed. These points are set out by Acas and in the HMRC guidance on working out SSP by hand.

The method this SSP calculator uses

• Weekly rate = the lower of £123.25 and average weekly earnings × 80%
• Daily rate = weekly rate ÷ number of qualifying days in the week
• SSP for a part week = daily rate × qualifying days off sick, with any fraction of a penny rounded up
• A week for SSP runs from Sunday to Saturday. A full week of sickness is paid at the weekly rate.

Qualifying days are the days the employee normally works under their contract. SSP is paid only for those days. HMRC publishes the unrounded daily rates and a table of amounts to pay in its rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. This sick pay calculator for UK employers matches that table for employees on the full rate.

The law says that where SSP due includes a fraction of a penny, it is rounded up to the next whole penny (regulation 11 of the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982). The calculator works out each week from the unrounded daily rate and then rounds up. One example in the HMRC guidance multiplies a daily rate that has already been rounded to £20.54 and shows £82.16 for 4 days out of 6. The HMRC table and the unrounded method both give £82.17, which is the figure this calculator uses.

Average weekly earnings

Use gross earnings that count for Class 1 National Insurance. The period to look at ends on the last normal payday before the first full day of sickness, and covers at least 8 weeks before that. For a weekly-paid employee, add up the pay in that period and divide by 8. For a monthly-paid employee, add up the two months of pay, divide by 2, multiply by 12 and divide by 52. Do not round the average.

Statutory sick pay calculator worked example

An employee earns an average of £140 a week and works Monday to Friday. They are off sick from Wednesday 14 October 2026 to Tuesday 27 October 2026. Their weekly rate is £140 × 80% = £112, which is lower than £123.25. The daily rate is £112 ÷ 5 = £22.40. The first week has 3 qualifying days (£67.20), the second is a full week (£112.00) and the third has 2 qualifying days (£44.80). SSP due is £224.00 for 10 qualifying days.

Linked periods of sickness

If an employee is off sick again within 8 weeks (56 days) of an earlier absence, the two periods are linked and treated as one. The rate set at the start of the first absence carries on, and the days already paid count towards the 28-week limit. This calculator does not link periods. For a linked absence, take off the SSP days already paid from the 28-week limit yourself, or use the GOV.UK calculator.

Employees who were already off sick before 6 April 2026 can fall under transitional rules, including a protected flat rate for some people earning between £125 and £154.05 a week. This tool does not calculate those cases.

Questions about Statutory Sick Pay

How much is SSP in 2026?

From 6 April 2026 Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. For someone who works 5 days a week on the full rate, that is £24.65 for each qualifying day off sick. These rates apply until 5 April 2027.

Is SSP paid from the first day of sickness?

Yes. Since 6 April 2026 SSP has been paid from the first qualifying day of sickness. Before that date the first 3 qualifying days were unpaid waiting days and SSP started on the fourth. A statutory sick pay calculator that still takes off waiting days is using the old rules.

Do you have to earn a minimum amount to get SSP?

No. The lower earnings limit of £125 a week was removed on 6 April 2026. An employee who earns £154.06 a week or less gets 80% of their average weekly earnings. For example, someone who earns an average of £100 a week gets £80 a week in SSP.

How is a day of SSP worked out?

Divide the weekly rate by the number of qualifying days in the week, then multiply by the qualifying days off sick. On the full rate with 5 qualifying days, the daily rate is £123.25 ÷ 5 = £24.65, so 3 days off sick gives £73.95. With 4 qualifying days and average earnings of £145, the weekly rate is £116 and 2 days off sick gives £58.00.

How long can you get SSP for?

SSP is paid for up to 28 weeks. On the full rate that is 28 × £123.25 = £3,451.00. Periods of sickness that are 8 weeks or less apart are linked and count as one period towards the 28 weeks.

How are average weekly earnings worked out for SSP?

Employers use gross earnings over a period of at least 8 weeks, ending on the last normal payday before the sickness began. For weekly pay, add up the earnings and divide by 8. For monthly pay, add up two months of pay, divide by 2, multiply by 12 and divide by 52.