Payroll will only calculate sick pay for current and future tax weeks. You can pay your employees ‘one week behind’, and enter an absence starting in the previous week. In this case, the SSP will calculate but show as a correction in the current pay run.

To avoid this and record SSP, you can record the start and end dates one week ahead. For example, an employee’s sick leave began on 14/09/2025 and ended on 20/09/2025. Record the start date as 21/09/2025 and the end date as 27/09/2025. It will show the payment as SSP on the payslip.

Use the HMRC online calculator at gov.uk to ensure the employee's pay is correct.