The government are progressing the Employment Rights Bill through Parliament. Although some elements are being ping ponged between the commons and the Lords, a number of measures are agreed.
One such measure is the change to Statutory Sick Pay from 6th April 2026.
Statutory Sick Pay Reform
As part of a number of initiatives to Make Work Pay, the Government states it is committed to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) by ensuring the safety net of sick pay is available to those who need it the most.
This reform is part of the Employment Rights Bill currently progressing through the legislative stages in Parliament.
SSP is the minimum statutory payment an employee is entitled to for periods where they are unable to work due to illness. Many employers provide better sick pay conditions, others may pay the statutory minimum amounts. A few employers deny their employers their statutory right to any sick pay.
The changes to SSP from 6th April 2025 are outlined in the table below:
These measures are to apply across the United Kingdom (as the Bill mirrors the GB legislation Northern Ireland).
The announced implementation of this policy is 6th April 2026, subject to Royal Assent.
The estimated number of employees currently earning below the LEL is up to 1.3 million. This cohort would be eligible to access a reformed SSP provision.
An important change is readiness of the information technology to aid employers to deliver their obligations and simplify the process by handling many of the complexities.
So what is the DWP & HMRC Solution Design?
The HMRC Software Developers Support Team (SDST) have shared the following on how the project will now progress.
HMRC IT changes will focus on:
- SSP calculating facility will be removed from Basic Paye Tools
- SSP calculator on GOV.UK will be updated for the changes and will be used from 6th April 2026
- The lower earnings limit (LEL) requirement/test for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be removed
- Removal of the current waiting period in order that employees can claim SSP from Day 1
- The SSP1 form will also be updated from 6th April 2026
- Online GOV.UK changes will include updates to the SSP guidance, SSP calculators and the non-submittable SC2 form for claiming SSP
- Updating of the Statutory Sick Pay uprated rate from 6th April 2026 to £123.25 (subject to parliamentary approval)
They state that further details of 2026-27 changes will follow shortly.
So what else do we know about the change!
SSP will continue to only be payable for linked absence (there is not a gap of 56 days without sickness between the current and prior sickness) of 28 weeks of SSP.
The former exclusion for SSP and linking will be broken on 6th April 2026. An employer cannot use the reason for earnings being lower than the increase £129 weekly Lower Earnings Limit.
Any remaining waiting days for a sickness absence which started before 6th April 2026 reduce immediately to zero and SSP is due for all sickness days from that date.
For those already receiving SSP for a continuous period which started before the change point, there may be some transition protection arrangements to stop a drop from the uplifted standard rate to a lower 80% rate. The finer detail is to be confirmed.
The principle of qualifying days remains, and these remain an employer choice with a minimum of 1 QD per week. where agreement is not obtained in which days are assigned, the Wednesday rule remains applicable. Employers can already set alternate days which may avoid a distortion by choosing all working days as QDs etc.
What prep may be needed?
Employers need to ready their absence policies first the change and align with occupational sick pay rules.
The terms and condition and employer handbook that potentially outline sickness rules requires verification and being brought up to date.
A review of chosen and agreed Qualifying Days may be wise.
A review of standing exclusions may require review and clear down to remove exclusion conditions that no longer apply.
Any stock of old SSP1 forms may need to be removed and replaced by the new replacement version for use from 6th April 2026.
Be prepared for employee questions and challenges.
Watch out for further information on some of the nuances that still need to be clarified, but as a general principle, the basics of the measures are going ahead with full-day one right to SSP with no average earnings test and a new 80% of average earnings based rate subject to the weekly maximum standard rate of £123.25 per week.
7/12/2025 PSP (with permission of PAYadvice Ltd)