The UK Government have confirmed that reforms to Statutory Sick Pay will be progressed for sickness absence from Monday 6th April 2026.
The governments plan to ‘Make Work Pay’ is intended to tackle poor pay, poor working conditions and poor job security so that people across the UK feel the benefits.
Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay is seen as a key component of this reform, ‘ensuring that the safety net of sick pay is available to those who need it the most’.
The government have set out a roadmap which sets out theinitial plan for implementation of the measures. This is to provide clarity for employers and employees on when the government expect to see the changes take place on the ground.
The key Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) change measures
….all eligible employees, regardless of their earnings, will have access to SSP when off work due to sickness…
For absences from Monday 6th April 2026, the following SSP measures will be implemented:
- Removal of the Lower Earnings Limit as an eligibility criterion for SSP, meaning all eligible employees, regardless of their earnings, will have access to SSP when off work due to sickness.
- SSP weekly rate – Employees will be entitled to 80% of their normal weekly earnings, or the flat rate, whichever is lower; and
- Removal of the Waiting Period meaning employees will be eligible to receive SSP from their first working day of sickness absence, rather than the fourth working day.
… all eligible employees have access to Statutory Sick Pay irrespective of their income level…
These changes are designed to ensure that all employees have access to Statutory Sick Pay irrespective of their income level, and the peace of mind that this brings when they need to take time off work due to sickness.
What This Means
With the date now set as Monday 6th April 2026 (the first day of the new tax year) as the point the SSP measures will come into effect, the government are now encouraging employer to prepare and update their internal employment and sickness policies and resources, and also allow for changes to deliver these changes in payroll and HR software.
Impacts
…cost to business of the reforms is ….. around £15 per employee….
According to the government:
- On employees
- Around 1-1.3 million employees currently earn below the lower earnings limit and therefore will become eligible for Statutory Sick Pay.
- Groups most impacted by this change are women, and those aged 16-24 and over 65.
- Around 25% of employees rely on Statutory Sick Pay only and will benefit from the removal of waiting days.
- On businesses
- Reduce Presenteeism and Increase Productivity: enabling employees to take the time off they need to recover from short-term illnesses may reduce the overall rate of sickness absence. Enabling sick pay from day one is likely to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases and further reduce sickness absence days.
- Maintaining a strong link between the workplace and the employee: Employers having responsibility for paying sick pay encourages them to support employees to return to work when they are able.
- Cost: Additional cost to business of the reforms is around £500m in total, around £15 per employee.
Who can I approach to review out sickness policies in readiness
HR specialists will be able to assist, however, many employers may not have either the HR or employment law specialist to assist. SD Worx Payroll Advisory Legislation Services (PALS) team do have employment specialist partners who can assist.
As a value add service they can pass through your policy and Terms and Conditions documents for review.
What about our SD Worx payroll solutions?
Now that the implementation point has been announced, the SD Work HRe Payroll solutions will be being readied. Remember, this change does not apply until the first sickness point from Monday 6th April 2025.
Any solution updates will be communicated alongside the update information for the 2026/2027 tax year.
payhr.uk (PSP) 04/07/2025