Statutory Sick Pay Calculator 2026-27

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is paid by your employer when you are too ill to work. For 2026/27, the rate is £123.25 per week, and it can run for up to 28 weeks in any one period of incapacity, a maximum of £3,451. To qualify, you must be an employee, have been ill for at least one full working day and have told your employer within their deadline. Since 6 April 2026 there is no minimum earnings test: lower earners receive 80% of their normal weekly earnings where that is less than £123.25.

SSP is paid from the first qualifying day of sickness, because the 3 unpaid waiting days were abolished on 6 April 2026. Qualifying days are the days you would normally work, so if you work Monday to Friday, only those count. A fortnight off sick therefore covers 14 calendar days but only 10 qualifying days, and all 10 are paid. SSP for a single qualifying day is the weekly rate divided by the number of qualifying days you normally work in a week, so a Monday to Friday worker is paid a fifth of the weekly rate for each day. SSP is taxable and subject to NI deductions.

Some employers offer contractual sick pay that exceeds SSP. This calculator asks for the number of working days you are off sick, meaning the days you would normally have worked rather than calendar days, and pays SSP for each of them up to the 28-week limit. It then compares the result with your normal pay for the same days so you can see the shortfall, which is £753.50 for the 10-day example below on £500 a week. It also applies the 80% of average weekly earnings limit, which is what now sets the rate for people on very low or irregular hours.

You self-certify for the first 7 days. From day 8 you need a fit note (Statement of Fitness for Work), which since the July 2022 reforms can come from a GP or hospital doctor, a registered nurse, an occupational therapist, a pharmacist or a physiotherapist. A fit note can say you 'may be fit for work' with conditions attached, and employers must consider reasonable adjustments in response.

When the 28 weeks run out, your employer issues form SSP1 so you can claim Employment and Support Allowance through gov.uk. New style ESA pays up to £95.55 a week during the assessment phase if you are 25 or over (£75.65 if younger), then up to £145.90 a week in the support group for those with limited capability for work-related activity. Personal Independence Payment may be available on top for daily living or mobility costs, and Universal Credit applies to working-age claimants. No new claims can be made for income-related ESA, so new claimants rely on new style ESA, which depends on National Insurance history, or on Universal Credit.

Larger employers commonly offer Occupational Sick Pay on top of SSP. Typical enhanced schemes pay full salary for 4-13 weeks and then half salary for a further period, while banks and professional services firms often pay 6-12 weeks at full pay. Public sector employers in the NHS, civil service and local government usually start at 1 month full pay plus 2 months half pay in year 1, rising to 6 months full and 6 months half after 5 years' service. Check your contract and staff handbook, because enhanced sick pay can be worth hundreds of pounds a week more than SSP.