UK Sick Pay Calculator (SSP)

April 2026 brought the biggest reform of Statutory Sick Pay since the scheme began. Under the Employment Rights Act changes taking effect from 6 April 2026, SSP is now payable from the very first day of sickness — the three unpaid "waiting days" are gone — and the lower earnings limit has been abolished, bringing over a million low-paid workers into the scheme for the first time. The rate for 2026/27 is £123.25 a week, or 80% of average weekly earnings if that's lower (the new rule that makes SSP proportionate for part-timers and low earners), payable for up to 28 weeks per period of sickness. Your daily rate depends on how many days a week you normally work. This calculator handles the new mechanics: enter your average weekly earnings, the working days you'll miss, and your usual working pattern, and it returns your daily rate, weekly rate, and the total SSP due — with the flat rate editable for other tax years.

The day-one change alters the economics of short absences completely. Under the old rules a three-day illness paid nothing; now every qualifying day pays. For a five-day-a-week worker on the flat rate, that's £24.65 a day from day one. The 80% rule matters in the other direction: someone averaging £110 a week — previously excluded entirely by the earnings threshold — now receives £88 a week when sick. SSP remains a floor, not a salary: £123.25 replaces under a quarter of median full-time pay, so knowing your exact daily figure tells you how quickly an illness strains the budget and what any contractual sick pay above the floor is genuinely worth.

Take the lower of the flat weekly rate (£123.25 for 2026/27) and 80% of your average weekly earnings — the 80% branch applies to lower earners and makes SSP proportionate rather than excluding them. Divide by your qualifying days (the days you normally work each week) to get a daily rate, then multiply by the working days you're off sick. Non-working days never count or pay. Payment runs from the first qualifying day and stops after 28 weeks in any linked period of sickness.

1. Enter average weekly earnings. Gross average over the 8 weeks before the sickness began. There's no minimum anymore — every employee qualifies from April 2026.
2. Check the rate field. £123.25 is the 2026/27 flat rate. Calculating for 2025/26 (when £118.75, waiting days, and the earnings threshold still applied)? Adjust accordingly.
3. Enter working days missed. Only days you were scheduled to work count — a Monday-to-Friday worker sick for a full week misses 5 qualifying days, not 7.
4. Set qualifying days per week. Your normal working pattern. This sets the daily rate: the weekly amount divided over 5 days differs from the same amount over 3.
5. Read total and check your contract. The result is the statutory minimum. Many employers pay occupational sick pay above it — SSP is what remains when the contract is silent.

• Applying the old waiting days. From 6 April 2026, SSP starts on the first qualifying day of absence — the three unpaid days are history for new absences.
• Counting calendar days instead of working days. Weekends and non-working days in a sickness period neither pay nor count toward anything.
• Assuming SSP still excludes low earners. The lower earnings limit is abolished; low earners now get 80% of their average weekly earnings instead of nothing.
• Confusing SSP with occupational sick pay. SSP is the statutory floor; a contractual scheme paying full salary for a period sits on top and is governed by your contract, not statute.
• Missing the notification and evidence rules. Employers can require prompt notification and, after 7 days, a fit note — following the procedure protects the payment.

• Check your contract before assuming you'll drop to SSP — many employers pay enhanced sick pay for weeks or months first.
• Linked absences (within 8 weeks of each other, 4+ days each) count as one period toward the 28-week maximum — relevant for recurring conditions.
• SSP is taxable through payroll but usually attracts little tax in practice because sick months are low-income months.
• Approaching 28 weeks? Apply for ESA or Universal Credit before SSP ends; your employer must issue form SSP1 to support the claim.
• Self-employed people get no SSP at all — income protection insurance or an emergency fund covering 3–6 months fills that gap.

The 2026 reforms fixed SSP's two harshest edges: the unpaid first three days and the exclusion of the lowest earners. What remains is still a floor — £123.25 a week or 80% of earnings — so the practical questions are what your daily rate is, what your contract adds on top, and how long your budget survives at that level. Answer those while healthy, not from a sickbed.

• UK Maternity Pay Calculator — statutory maternity pay at 2026/27 rates
• UK Redundancy Pay Calculator — your statutory entitlement if the job goes
• UK Holiday Pay Calculator — annual leave accrues even while off sick
• Savings Goal Calculator — build the sick-pay gap fund

• GOV.UK — Statutory Sick Pay (gov.uk) — Official eligibility and claim rules
• Acas — Checking sick pay (acas.org.uk) — Independent guidance on SSP and contractual sick pay