The February edition of the HMRC Employers Bulletin out lines the changes to Statutory Sick Pay which applies from 6th April 2026 and forms one of the measures from the Employment Right Act 2025.
PAYadvice.UK has published a series of articles and resource pages (see below links) on the changes which are to soon come into force.
From 6 April 2026 the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces two major changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).
Removal of the Lower Earnings Limit
All eligible employees will be entitled to SSP regardless of income. SSP will be paid at 80% of normal weekly earnings or the uprated weekly flat rate of £123.25, whichever is lower.
Removal of the Waiting Period
SSP will be paid from the first full day of sickness absence, not from day four.
These changes make SSP more accessible and remove barriers for lower-paid employees, and will apply across the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. The relevant legislation will apply as to when the sickness absence took place. Absences starting before 6 April 2026 will follow the current system to determine eligibility and payment. Absences starting on or after 6 April 2026 will use the new rules, unless otherwise outlined in legislation.
Get ready for SSP changes
HMRC has shared technical guidance, including on transitional protections with software developers and payroll providers to help them prepare for these changes. HMRC suggest that you may wish to discuss these changes with your payroll provider.
Make sure your payroll systems are ready and staff understand the new rules.
Guidance on SSP for employers and employees will be updated in due course. Wider guidance on the Employment Rights Act is available on Business.gov.uk.
Opinion
The changes to SSP require some planning of the various scenarios including understanding the transitional protection for those who are already in receipt of SSP before the change point of 6th April 2026.
For clarity, the Period of Incapacity for Work (PIW) reduces from the former 4 continuous calendar days sickness to a single full working (referred to as qualifying) day.
With the introduction of SSP for those earning under the National Insurance (NI) Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) with an 80% average weekly earnings rate subject to a maximum (for 2026/2027) £123.25 weekly rate, any daily fractions or rate calculations find themselves not following standard rounding conventions, but a regulated requirement for any part pence to be rounded up to the next whole pence.
The DWP have also recently confirmed an average earnings requirement if £0 to be applied to anyone who previously did not qualify for SSP before 6th April due to earnings below the LEL where they are in a continuous long term period of sickness which commenced prior to 22nd September 2025 (28 weeks prior to commencement of the change). Only for this cohort is the AWE to be zero regardless resulting in a £0 per week SSP rate.
SSP change resources on PAYadvice.UK
PAYadvice.UK has a useful dedicated page to the SSP changes along with other resources and articles on SSP and the Employer Bulletins
PAYadvice.UK 12/2/2026