Sick Pay is Changing – What Small Employers Need to Know (No Jargon, No Nonsense)

There’s a big change coming to how Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) works.
It’s planned for April 2026, but here’s what you need to know now so you’re ready.

🧾 The big change

Right now, when someone calls in sick, you don’t have to pay them for the first 3 days.
From 2026, you’ll have to pay from day one.

So if your employee’s off sick on Monday, SSP starts from that Monday - not Thursday.

💰 How much is SSP?

Keep it simple:

• It’s about £117 a week right now (goes up a little each April).

• Roughly £23 a day if they work five days a week.

• You pay it through your payroll like normal wages.

• You can’t claim it back from HMRC — that stopped years ago.

You can pay more if you want (some firms do), but the legal minimum is SSP.

👷 Who gets it?

Anyone on your payroll (PAYE) who:

• Earns roughly £120+ a week (this lower limit is likely being scrapped soon),

• Has told you they’re off sick, and

• Is off for at least one full day.

If they’re self-employed or subcontracted and invoice you, SSP doesn’t apply.

🏥 When do you need a doctor’s note?

• Days 1–7: no doctor’s note needed. They “self-certify” and tell you they’re ill.
  You can ask them to fill in a short self-cert form or email confirmation.

• From Day 8 onwards, you can request a doctor’s note (now referred to as a “fit note”).

If they don’t provide one after day 7, you can pause SSP until they do.

⚖️ “Can I take it out of their holiday?”

No, not unless they ask you to.
You can’t automatically swap sick leave for holiday leave.
If they’re genuinely ill, it’s sick leave, and they’re entitled to SSP.

If they choose to use holiday days instead (for example, to keep their pay topped up), that’s fine — but it has to be their choice, not yours.

📄 Time to check your employee contracts

This is a critical consideration, especially for small businesses.

You should review your staff contracts before these new rules come in. Here’s why:

• Most small business contracts say something like “No sick pay for the first 3 days.”
  That will be out of date once SSP starts from day one.

• You cannot legally write a contract that says “We don’t pay Statutory Sick Pay.”
  SSP is a legal minimum right, like the minimum wage.
  You can’t take it away or exclude it in a contract — even if both parties agree.

What you can do is:

• Keep things at SSP only (you don’t have to offer extra or full pay).

• Add your own rules on how staff report sickness — for example, “You must phone or message before your start time” or “You need a doctor’s note after 7 days.”

If you want to be generous, you can add a “Company Sick Pay” scheme on top of SSP — but that’s optional.

So your contracts should say something like:

“Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be paid in line with current government legislation.
There is no additional company sick pay scheme.”

That keeps you fully legal and avoids confusion later.

⚒️ What this means for small businesses

We get it - this hits small firms hardest.
It means:

• You’ll pay sick pay even for short absences.

• You’ll need to track sickness properly.

• You’ll want clear reporting rules.

• You may also need to adjust your cash flow planning.

💡 Quick examples

Example 1:
Emma works in your small office. She’s off Monday and Tuesday with flu.
✅ Now: you don’t pay SSP (too short).
✅ From April 2026: you’ll pay about £46 total (2 days of SSP).

Example 2:
Dave’s on the tools and off for a week.
✅ Now: you’d pay SSP from Thursday (day 4).
✅ From 2026: you’ll pay from Monday (about £117 total).

Example 3:
Lee’s a self-employed plumber who invoices you per job.
❌ He doesn’t get SSP — nothing changes.

🧠 In short:

• Sick Pay starts from day one (not day four).

• Around £117 a week (about £23/day).

• No refunds from HMRC.

• Doctor’s note from day 8.

• Can’t swap sick days for holiday unless they ask.

• SSP can’t be excluded from contracts - it’s a legal right.

• Review contracts now to make sure they’re up to date before 2026.

Our advice:
Before these new rules kick in, give your contracts and staff policies a quick once-over.

It’s much easier (and cheaper) to fix the paperwork now than to deal with HMRC or a claim later.