Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the minimum amount UK employers must pay to employees who are absent from work due to illness. For 2025-26, SSP is £118.75 per week, paid from the fourth qualifying day of sickness (the first three days are waiting days and are unpaid unless the employer's own sick pay scheme is more generous). SSP is payable for up to 28 weeks in a period of incapacity for work, after which the employee may qualify for Employment and Support Allowance.
To qualify for SSP, an employee must be classed as an employee (not a worker or self-employed), have average weekly earnings of at least the lower earnings limit (£123 for 2025-26), and have been sick for four or more consecutive days including non-working days. There is no minimum length of service requirement. Agency workers supplied through an umbrella or employment business are eligible if they meet the earnings test. Employees must notify their employer of absence in accordance with the employer's notification procedure, and can self-certify for the first seven days; a fit note from a GP is required for longer absences.
SSP is paid through payroll and is subject to income tax and NICs in the same way as regular pay. Employers can no longer reclaim SSP from HMRC (the rebate scheme ended in 2014), except during certain designated public health emergency periods. Employers with contractual sick pay schemes must pay at least SSP; they may pay more but not less.