Statutory Sick Pay 2026/2027

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces significant changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) regulations, comes into force from 6th April 2026. The changes to SSP from 6th April are:

  • Removal of the Lower Earnings Limit criteria check to make SSP available to all employees, regardless of their weekly earnings

  • Removing waiting days from the SSP calculation so that eligible employees are entitled to SSP from their first full day of sickness absence, rather than the fourth

  • Transitional Protections to apply for employees who are on continuous sick over the tax year end to be paid the 2026 weekly SSP rate

 

Eligibility and qualifying rules:

Prior to April 6 2026 -An employee has to be absent for four days before they qualify for SSP. The first three days are waiting days. From the fourth day, the employee would be eligible for SSP. Their Average Weekly Earnings has to be above the Lower Earnings Limit to qualify


After April 6 2026 -Waiting days will no longer exist, so an employee will be eligible from the first day they're absent. The LEL is also no longer used meaning all employees are eligible to receive SSP.

 

Rate of SSP Payment:

Prior to April 6 2026 -The SSP rate in 2026/26 is £118.75 per week

 

After April 6 2026 - Employees will receive the lower of:

  • £123.25 - the weekly SSP rate for 2026/2027or

  • 80% of their average weekly earnings

 

Transitional Protections

If an employeeis in receipt of SSP during 2025/26, and the absence continues in 2026/27, the employee will continue to be paid SSP at the weekly rate of £123.25 until the end of the absence. The new rate of SSP payment calculation will be disregarded for these employees until the absence ends

Once the absence ends and the employee returns to work, any further absence will be calculated using the new qualifying rules and rate of pay

 

If an employee absence started during 2025/26 however did not qualify for SSP as the average weekly earnings is below the Lower Earnings Limit, if the absence continues into 2026/27 the employee will qualify for SSP from 6th April and will be paid 80% of the Average Weekly Earnings for any sickness from this date.

 

Cascade will automatically apply the new payments, rules and protections from 6th April 2026.