Sick pay, explained

If you are an employee and too ill to work, your employer must pay you at least Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Since 6 April 2026 SSP is paid from your first day off sick, not the fourth, and there is no longer a minimum earnings level. The rate is £123.25 a week or 80% of your normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks.

Your contract may give you more, often called company, contractual or occupational sick pay. For the first 7 days you can self-certify; after that you need a fit note. You can be dismissed while off sick, but only after a fair process, and if your condition is a disability your employer must also consider reasonable adjustments. This page covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own SSP rules.

Statutory Sick Pay on 2 October 2026

Who qualifies

GOV.UK says you must:

• be classed as an employee
• have done some work for your employer
• have been ill for at least one full working day

Agency workers may also be entitled. If you have more than one job, you may get SSP from each employer. You cannot get SSP while getting Statutory Maternity Pay, or once you have had the 28-week maximum.

What changed on 6 April 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 made two changes from 6 April 2026:

Before 6 April 2026	From 6 April 2026
No SSP for the first 3 “waiting days”	Paid from the first day of sickness
Only paid if you earned at least the lower earnings limit	No minimum earnings
Flat weekly rate	£123.25 or 80% of normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower

Acas cites around 1.3 million low-paid employees who previously received no SSP at all. Transitional rules covered people whose sickness straddled 6 April 2026.

How much and how it’s paid

SSP covers all the full days you are off sick that you would normally have worked. Your employer averages your earnings over 8 weeks to find your normal weekly earnings. It is paid like your wages, weekly or monthly, with tax and National Insurance deducted.

As an illustration only: if your normal weekly earnings are £100, 80% is £80, which is lower than £123.25, so your SSP is £80 a week. If they are £400, 80% is £320, so you get the £123.25 rate.

Linked periods

Separate spells of sickness can link together if each lasts more than one full working day and they are 8 weeks or less apart. Linked spells count towards the 28-week limit, and SSP ends if linked periods last more than 3 years.

Telling your employer

You must usually tell your employer you are unable to work before any deadline it sets, or within 7 days if it has not set one, or you could lose some SSP. If your employer decides you are not entitled, it must send you form SSP1 within 7 days of your first day off sick. If you disagree, GOV.UK says to discuss it with your employer and then contact HMRC’s Statutory Payment Disputes Team.

Contractual sick pay

Acas says your contract or written statement should set out how much sick pay you get, how long it lasts, and any rules for claiming it. Some schemes are discretionary, but Acas says even discretionary policies must not discriminate, for example against a disabled worker, and must treat part-time workers the same as comparable full-time employees.

If you are owed contractual sick pay and it is not paid, that is a contract claim. You can bring it as an unlawful deduction from wages claim in the employment tribunal, where time limits are short: for events on or after 1 October 2026, 6 months minus 1 day for most claims. Contract claims can also go to the civil courts, where the time limit is 6 years in England and Wales and a 5-year prescription period applies in Scotland.

Fit notes

• First 7 days: you can self-certify. Your employer may ask you to confirm you were ill when you return.
• More than 7 days in a row (including non-working days): you must provide a fit note.
• Who can issue one: a doctor, nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist with the right training.
• “May be fit for work”: your employer should discuss changes such as different hours, tasks or working from home. If you cannot agree changes, you must be treated as not fit for work.

Holiday while off sick

You keep building up statutory holiday while off sick, and if you are ill during a booked holiday you can take that time as sick leave instead. Holiday you could not take because of sickness can be carried over, within limits. See holiday entitlement.

Dismissal while off sick

Being off sick does not stop an employer from dismissing you, but the dismissal must be fair. Acas says dismissal should be a last resort, and that for a dismissal because of long-term illness to be fair, the employer would normally have:

• considered all other options
• established that it is not possible for you to do your job
• shown that your inability to work has a significant impact on the business

The employer should support you first, for example through changes to your role or a phased return, and should investigate fully. See unfair dismissal for the qualifying period and how claims work.

If your condition is a disability

A condition is a disability under the Equality Act if it has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your normal day-to-day activities; long-term means it has lasted, or is likely to last, 12 months or more. Cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis are each treated as a disability. Acas says reasonable adjustments might include not counting disability-related absence towards trigger points, or raising the number of absences that triggers a review. Dismissing someone over disability-related absence without making reasonable adjustments could be disability discrimination, which has no qualifying period.

What to check in your contract or letter

• Sick pay clause: how much, for how long, and whether it is contractual or discretionary.
• Absence reporting rules: who to call, by when, and what happens if you miss the deadline.
• Trigger points in the sickness absence policy, and whether disability-related absence is treated differently.
• Occupational health and medical report clauses, including consent to contact your GP.
• Capability procedure: the stages, warnings and right of appeal.
• Holiday during sickness: how the employer handles booked leave you were too ill to take.
• Permanent health insurance or income protection benefits, and whether dismissal would end them.
• Any capability or dismissal letter: the medical evidence relied on and the alternatives considered.

When it helps to speak to a solicitor

Advice can help if you are being taken through a capability process, if your employer refuses adjustments for a long-term condition, if contractual sick pay has been stopped, or if you have been dismissed while off sick. Tribunal time limits are short, so it helps to check dates early.

Common questions

How much is Statutory Sick Pay in 2026?

GOV.UK says SSP is £123.25 a week or 80% of your normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Your employer works out your earnings as an average over 8 weeks. SSP is paid for up to 28 weeks, for the full days you are off sick that you would normally have worked, through payroll with tax and National Insurance deducted.

Is SSP paid from the first day of sickness?

Yes, since 6 April 2026. The Employment Rights Act 2025 removed the three unpaid 'waiting days' and the lower earnings limit, so lower-paid employees now qualify. Acas says SSP is now paid from the first day of sickness absence instead of the fourth. To qualify you must be an employee, have done some work for your employer, and have been ill for at least one full working day.

When do I need a fit note?

If you are off for more than 7 days in a row, including non-working days. For the first 7 days you can self-certify. Fit notes can be issued by a doctor, nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist. If a fit note says you 'may be fit for work' and you and your employer cannot agree changes, you must be treated as not fit for work.

My employer says I'm not entitled to SSP. What can I do?

If your employer decides you do not qualify, it must send you form SSP1 within 7 days of your first day off sick, explaining why. If you disagree, GOV.UK says to talk to your employer first and, if that does not resolve it, contact HMRC's Statutory Payment Disputes Team. Disputes about contractual sick pay are a contract matter instead.

Can I be dismissed while off sick?

It is possible, but Acas says dismissal should be a last resort. An employer would normally need to have considered all other options, established that you cannot do your job, and shown your absence has a significant impact on the business, after a fair capability process. If your condition is a disability, dismissing you without making reasonable adjustments could be discrimination.

Do I keep building up holiday while I'm off sick?

Yes. Statutory holiday builds up while you are off sick. If you could not take holiday because of sickness, you can carry over up to 20 days if you work regular hours, or 28 days if you work irregular hours or part of the year, to be used within 18 months of the end of the leave year.

Sources

1. GOV.UK: Statutory Sick Pay checked Fri Oct 02
2. GOV.UK: Statutory Sick Pay, eligibility checked Fri Oct 02
3. GOV.UK: Statutory Sick Pay, employer guide checked Fri Oct 02
4. Employment Rights Act 2025, section 10 (SSP: removal of waiting period) checked Fri Oct 02
5. Employment Rights Act 2025, section 11 (SSP: lower earnings limit and 80% rule) checked Fri Oct 02
6. Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026 checked Fri Oct 02
7. Acas: Statutory sick pay changes 2026 checked Fri Oct 02
8. Acas: Sick pay entitlement checked Fri Oct 02
9. GOV.UK: Taking sick leave checked Fri Oct 02
10. GOV.UK: Getting the most out of the fit note, guidance for employers checked Fri Oct 02
11. Acas: Types of dismissal (long-term illness) checked Fri Oct 02
12. Acas: Disability-related absence checked Fri Oct 02
13. Equality Act 2010, section 6 and Schedule 1 (meaning of disability) checked Fri Oct 02
14. GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement (carry-over after sickness) checked Fri Oct 02
15. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 23 (unlawful deductions: complaints and time limits) checked Fri Oct 02
16. Limitation Act 1980, section 5 (contract claims, England and Wales) checked Fri Oct 02
17. Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 6 (five-year prescription) checked Fri Oct 02
18. Acas: Employment tribunal time limits (updated 1 October 2026) checked Fri Oct 02

This guide is general information about employment law in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland has its own employment law. It isn't legal advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account.