Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) - qualifying rules

Some employees don’t qualify for SSP. Sage Payroll will do the necessary checks and apply SSP if the employee meets the requirements. 

After 06/04/2026

The way SSP works is changing. Waiting days will no longer exist, so an employee will be eligible from the first day they’re absent. This will apply from the first day of their employment.

The Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) is also no longer relevant, meaning all employees are eligible to receive SSP.

Employees receive the lower of either;

• £123.25 
• 80% of their average weekly earnings

For more details, read Changes to statutory sick pay for 2026/2027

Before 06/04/2026

If you prefer to watch a video on the process, select the play button below.

Who is eligible?

To qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), the employee must:

• Be unable to work for four or more days in a row
• Have an Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) of at least £125 (2025/26) per week
• Inform you of their absence and provide proof when required

 Read more on the HMRC website Statutory Sick Pay.

How much they're paid

Pay your employees for the days they usually work:

• £118.75 (2025/26) per week
• For a maximum of 28 weeks

Employees who don't qualify

For employees who don't qualify for SSP, or have been off sick for more than 28 weeks, give them form SSP1.

You can download it from the Gov.uk website. Employees Statement of Sickness.

Average weekly earning

For employees to qualify for SSP, their AWE must be at least £125 (2025/26).

We'll calculate this based on the pay runs already processed for this employee.

When this is less than £125 (2025/26) per week, you'll see a message and you have two options:

1. Issue certificate SSP1. This means the employee has earned less than £125 (2025/26) per week and doesn't qualify for SSP. Select the SPP1 link to download the form to give to your employee.
2. Manually set the AWE value. Your employee has earned more than £125 (2025/26), but the earnings in your Payroll are less than this. This can happen if you started using Payroll part-way through the tax year. Enter the employee average weekly earnings yourself. It is your responsibility to ensure this is correct.

Pay employees Statutory Sick Pay

Statutory Sick Pay - terms

Recording absences in a pay run