Statutory Sick Pay: What Your Letter Really Means (UK 2026)

What changed in 2026: Two long-standing rules were removed. Statutory Sick Pay now starts from the first day of sickness rather than the fourth, and the lower earnings threshold that excluded around a million low-paid workers no longer applies. If your employer is still applying the old rules, that is worth querying.

At a glance

• SSP is a legal minimum, not a benefit you claim. Your employer pays it through normal payroll, and it's taxed like wages.
• It runs for up to 28 weeks in one period of sickness, or across linked periods.
• Waiting days are gone. SSP is now payable from day one of your sick leave, not day four.
• Your contract may promise more. Occupational or company sick pay sits on top of SSP and is a separate entitlement.
• An SSP1 form is a refusal, not a payslip — it exists so you can claim Universal Credit or ESA instead.
• Not legal or financial advice: This article explains the rules in plain English. For your specific situation, speak to ACAS, a trade union, or Citizens Advice.

You've been off sick. At some point a letter arrives from HR, or a line appears on your payslip that you don't recognise, and it contains a number considerably smaller than your normal pay.

Most people read that letter once, feel vaguely cheated, and file it. But an SSP letter is doing something quite specific: it is your employer's formal statement of what they believe you are legally owed. If the calculation behind it is wrong — and it often is, especially for people with irregular hours — that letter is also the evidence you need to challenge it.

Here's how to read it properly.

What Statutory Sick Pay actually is

SSP is the legal floor. It is the minimum an employer must pay an employee who is off sick and meets the qualifying conditions. It is not a state benefit, and you do not apply to the government for it. Your employer pays it, through payroll, alongside or instead of your normal wages, with tax and National Insurance deducted in the usual way.

That last point catches people out. SSP is taxable. The figure quoted in your letter is the gross amount, and what actually lands in your account will be lower.

The two rules that changed

For decades, SSP had two features that made it noticeably meaner than it first appeared. Both were removed as part of the employment reforms taking effect in 2026.

Waiting days

The old system had three "waiting days" — the first three qualifying days of any period of sickness were unpaid, and SSP only started on day four. Short illnesses were therefore worth nothing at all, which is a large part of why people went to work ill.

That's gone. SSP is now payable from the first qualifying day of sickness. If your letter refers to waiting days, or your payment starts on the fourth day of your absence, ask your employer which rules they've applied.

The lower earnings limit

Previously you had to earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit — around £125 a week — to qualify for SSP at all. Below that, you got nothing. This excluded a large number of part-time workers, most of them women.

That threshold has been removed. Lower-paid workers now qualify, and receive either the standard flat weekly rate or a percentage of their normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower. In practice this means the lowest earners get a proportion of their usual pay rather than being cut out entirely.

Reading the letter itself

A typical SSP letter or statement will contain some combination of the following. Here's what each part is really telling you.

• Period of incapacity for work (PIW). The formal term for your spell of sickness. It needs to be four or more consecutive days, including non-working days and weekends, for SSP to engage at all — that four-day rule survived the reforms, even though the unpaid waiting days did not.
• Qualifying days. The days you would normally have worked. SSP is only paid on these, which is why a weekly SSP figure often doesn't divide neatly by seven.
• Average weekly earnings. Usually calculated over the eight weeks before you went off sick. This is the number most likely to be wrong if your hours vary, if you had unpaid leave in that window, or if a bonus fell inside or outside it.
• Weekly rate. The flat statutory rate, or your capped proportion of earnings if you're a lower earner.
• Linked periods. Two spells of sickness eight weeks apart or less are treated as one continuous period. This matters because it means the second spell doesn't restart the clock — and it counts towards the same 28-week maximum.
• Expected end date. When your 28 weeks run out, or when your employer expects your absence to end.

Not sure the number in your letter is right?

Upload the letter, your contract and a recent payslip to Clarify and ask plainly: "Is my sick pay calculated correctly?" or "Does my contract give me more than the legal minimum?" Every answer cites the exact line in your own documents, so you can see where the figure came from — and take it back to HR with something concrete.

Try Clarify free → getclarify.co.uk

Company sick pay: the bit people miss

SSP is a floor, not a ceiling. Many employment contracts include occupational sick pay — often full pay for a set number of weeks, then half pay, then dropping to SSP alone.

Crucially, this is a contractual right, not a statutory one, which means it lives in your contract or staff handbook rather than in legislation. If your SSP letter makes no mention of company sick pay, that doesn't prove you aren't entitled to it. It may simply mean the letter is only addressing the statutory element.

So before you accept the number: find your contract, search it for "sick", and check what it promises. If the contract offers more than the letter provides, ask HR directly why the enhanced scheme hasn't been applied.

Fit notes and evidence

For the first seven calendar days you can self-certify. Your employer may ask you to fill in a short form, but they cannot demand a doctor's note for a week or less.

Beyond seven days, you'll usually need a fit note from a GP, hospital doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist or paramedic. A fit note has two options: "not fit for work", or "may be fit for work" with suggested adjustments. That second option is not a return-to-work order — it's a prompt for a conversation. If your employer can't accommodate the adjustments, you remain off sick and SSP continues.

If you're told you don't qualify

An employer who believes you aren't entitled to SSP must give you form SSP1, normally within seven days of deciding. This is not a rejection to be filed away — it's the document you need in order to claim Universal Credit or "new style" Employment and Support Allowance instead.

The SSP1 states the reason for refusal. Common ones: you've used your 28 weeks, you weren't an employee, or the absence didn't meet the four-day threshold. If the stated reason doesn't match your circumstances, that's your starting point for a challenge.

What to do next

1. Check the start date. Payment should run from day one of qualifying sickness, not day four.
2. Check the average weekly earnings figure against your last eight weeks of payslips. This is where most errors sit.
3. Read your contract for company sick pay before accepting the statutory minimum.
4. Keep every fit note and letter. Linked periods mean paperwork from months ago can still matter.
5. If you disagree, raise it in writing with your employer first. If that fails, HMRC's Statutory Payment Disputes Team can make a formal decision on SSP entitlement — for free.
6. If you get an SSP1, act on it promptly. Universal Credit is generally paid from the date you claim, not the date you fell ill.

Your contract, your payslip, and the letter — read together

Work paperwork only makes sense side by side. Clarify reads your contract, payslips and HR letters together and answers questions in plain English, citing the exact wording each answer came from. No jargon, no assumptions about what "standard practice" means.

Check what you're owed → getclarify.co.uk

Frequently asked questions

How much is Statutory Sick Pay?

SSP is a flat weekly rate set by government and reviewed each April. Lower earners now receive either that flat rate or a set percentage of their normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Because the figure changes annually, check the current rate on gov.uk rather than relying on a number quoted in an older letter.

Do I still lose the first three days?

No. The three unpaid waiting days were removed in the 2026 reforms. SSP is payable from the first qualifying day of sickness. Your absence must still last four or more consecutive days for SSP to apply at all, but all qualifying days within it are now paid.

How long can I get SSP for?

Up to 28 weeks in a single period of sickness. Separate absences that fall eight weeks or less apart are linked and count towards the same 28 weeks, so repeated short absences can use up the entitlement faster than people expect.

Is SSP taxed?

Yes. It's paid through payroll and treated as earnings, so income tax and National Insurance are deducted as normal. The figure in your letter is gross.

Do I need a doctor's note?

Not for the first seven calendar days — you can self-certify. After that your employer can require a fit note, which can now be issued by a range of healthcare professionals, not just GPs.

What is an SSP1 form?

It's the form your employer must give you if they decide you don't qualify for SSP, or when your 28 weeks run out. It sets out the reason and allows you to claim Universal Credit or new style ESA instead.

Can I get more than SSP?

Often, yes. Many contracts include occupational sick pay that pays full or half pay for a period before dropping to SSP. This is a contractual entitlement, so check your contract and staff handbook — the SSP letter alone won't tell you.

What if I think the amount is wrong?

Raise it with your employer in writing first, setting out your calculation. If it isn't resolved, you can ask HMRC's Statutory Payment Disputes Team to decide your entitlement, which costs nothing. ACAS and Citizens Advice can help you frame the query.

Related articles

• UK Payslip Explained: What Every Line Means (2026)
• Your Employment Contract Explained: UK Guide (2026)
• Understanding Your Universal Credit Letter (UK 2026)
• Redundancy Letter Explained: What It Really Means (UK 2026)

This article is general information only and is not legal, financial or employment advice. SSP rates and rules change, and the reforms described here may be implemented on different timescales for different employers — always confirm current details on gov.uk. For help with your own situation, contact ACAS, your trade union, or Citizens Advice.