The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has provided an update to their transitional protection guidance (version 3) via the HMRC Software Developers Support Team.
The update is regarding Statutory Sick Pay Transitional Protections for the Employment Rights Act measures coming in from April 2026.
“Following final review of Government issued information ahead of implementation, this guidance was updated on 9th March to provide further clarity on edge cases involving employees who earned below the LEL (Part II) and employees restarting a linked period (Part III).
The changes to the document include:
- Clarifying an employee’s eligibility for SSP if they have been continuously off sick for longer than 28 weeks; and
- Clarifying an employee’s eligibility when restarting a linked period of sickness over the 6 April”
Employment Support Allowance (ESA)
It is worth noting that for those in receipt of ESA in the 85 days before 6th April 2026 is not eligible for SSP.
The updated DWP Statutory Sick Pay Transitional Guidance
The guidance including further indicated revision:
PAYadvice.UK 13/3/2026