Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) explained
A plain-English guide to Statutory Sick Pay: what SSP is, who qualifies, waiting and qualifying days, how long it lasts, fit notes and employer duties.
If an employee is off work sick, you as the employer usually have a legal duty to pay them Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). This guide explains what SSP is, who qualifies, how the waiting and qualifying days work, how long it lasts, and where fit notes fit in, all in plain English.
What SSP is
Statutory Sick Pay is the minimum amount an employer must pay to an eligible employee who is off work because of illness. It is a legal entitlement, not something you choose to offer. The weekly rate is set by the government and reviewed each April, so you should always check the current figure before running a sick pay calculation rather than relying on last year’s number.
SSP is paid by the employer through normal payroll, in the same way as wages, and it is subject to tax and National Insurance in the usual way. Some employers offer more generous contractual sick pay, but they can never pay less than SSP to an eligible employee.
Who qualifies for SSP
Not everyone who is off sick qualifies. To be entitled to SSP, an employee generally must meet all of the following conditions.
| Condition | What it means |
|---|---|
| Employment status | The person must be classed as an employee and have done some work for you |
| Earnings | They must earn at least the lower earnings limit on average |
| Length of sickness | They must be off sick for at least four days in a row, including non-working days |
| Notification | They must tell you they are sick within your deadline, or within seven days if you have none |
The lower earnings limit is the minimum average weekly earnings needed to qualify. Like the SSP rate itself, it is set by government and reviewed each year, so check the current threshold. Employees who earn below it are not entitled to SSP, though they may be able to claim other support.
Waiting days and qualifying days
Two ideas are central to how SSP is calculated: qualifying days and waiting days.
Qualifying days are the days an employee normally works. SSP is only paid for qualifying days, so for someone who works Monday to Friday, only those weekdays count.
Waiting days are the first three qualifying days of a period of sickness. SSP is not usually paid for these first three qualifying days; payment normally starts from the fourth qualifying day. So an employee needs to be off for at least four days in a row (a “period of incapacity for work”) before any SSP is due, and the first three qualifying days within that are unpaid waiting days.
There is an exception worth knowing: if two periods of sickness are eight weeks or less apart, they can be linked and treated as a single spell, which means the waiting days may not apply again.
How long SSP can be paid
SSP is not open-ended. It can be paid for a maximum of 28 weeks for a single period of sickness or a series of linked periods. Once an employee has received 28 weeks of SSP, their entitlement stops.
At that point you must give the employee form SSP1 so they can claim other support if they need it, such as Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance. You should also issue SSP1 if an employee does not qualify for SSP in the first place, so they know where else to turn.
The employer’s responsibility to pay SSP
Paying SSP is the employer’s responsibility, and it must be paid through your payroll. You calculate the amount due, apply the waiting days, pay it alongside or instead of normal wages, and show it on the payslip. Unlike some other statutory payments, employers cannot usually reclaim SSP from the government, so the cost normally falls on the business.
Because SSP interacts with tax, National Insurance and your payroll records, it needs to be worked out accurately each time. Getting the waiting days, qualifying days or linking rules wrong can mean an employee is underpaid or overpaid, which creates problems for both sides.
Fit notes
For short absences, an employee can self-certify, meaning they simply confirm they were unwell. This covers the first seven days of sickness, including non-working days.
If an employee is off for more than seven days in a row, you can ask them for a fit note (also called a Statement of Fitness for Work) from a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or other healthcare professional. A fit note either says the person is not fit for work or may be fit for work with some support, such as amended duties or a phased return. A fit note helps you decide whether to continue paying SSP and whether any workplace adjustments would help the employee return.
Let us handle sick pay correctly
Statutory Sick Pay sounds simple, but the waiting days, qualifying days and linking rules trip people up, and the rates change every April. When we run your payroll, we work out SSP correctly, apply the current rates, keep the records straight and pay it through payroll for you. Learn more about our outsourced payroll service, or get a quote.