New SSP Rules for April 2026: What Every Employer and Recruitment Agency Needs to Know

On 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay in the UK is changing more dramatically than at any point in the last 40 years. Three big shifts are happening at once: the three-day waiting period is gone, the lower earnings threshold is gone, and the calculation method is changing.

Every employer and recruitment agency in the country needs to understand these changes. Not because it's interesting, but because if you get them wrong from day one, you'll either underpay workers (legal risk) or overpay them (margin disappearing).

This is a complete guide to the new SSP rules, what they mean in practice, and what you need to do before 6 April 2026.

What is Statutory Sick Pay?

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the legal minimum employers must pay employees who are off sick for at least four days in a row, including non-working days. It is currently set at £116.75 per week (2025-26 rate) and can be paid for up to 28 weeks in a single period of incapacity.

SSP is paid by the employer, not the government. The employer pays SSP just like normal wages, runs it through PAYE, and reports it to HMRC. Most employers cannot reclaim SSP from HMRC any more (the Percentage Threshold Scheme was abolished in 2014).

That last point is important. SSP is a direct cost to the business. Get it wrong, and the cost is yours.

The three big changes from 6 April 2026

Change 1: The three-day waiting period is abolished

Under the old rules, SSP was only payable from the fourth day of sickness. The first three days (called "waiting days") were unpaid. Workers had to be off for at least four days in a row to qualify.

From 6 April 2026, SSP is payable from day one. Every day of sickness from the first one is a paid SSP day, including weekends and non-working days that fall within the period of sickness.

What this means in practice:

Change 2: The Lower Earnings Limit threshold is abolished

Under the old rules, workers earning less than £125 per week (the Lower Earnings Limit, LEL) were not eligible for SSP at all. This excluded many part-time workers, casual staff, and low-paid agency workers from the SSP system entirely.

From 6 April 2026, the LEL threshold is removed. Every employed worker, regardless of earnings, is eligible for SSP from day one.

What this means in practice:

Change 3: The 80% AWE calculation

Under the old rules, SSP was a flat weekly rate (£116.75 in 2025-26) for everyone, regardless of normal earnings.

From 6 April 2026, SSP becomes the lower of two amounts:

This means lower-paid workers get a lower SSP than the standard rate. Higher-paid workers still get capped at the standard rate.

Worked examples:

The calculation must be done individually for every absence, every worker. Generic flat-rate payroll calculations no longer work.

What hasn't changed

Some things from the old SSP system remain:

What this means for direct employers

If you employ staff directly, you need to do five things before 6 April 2026:

If your payroll software calculates SSP based on the old rules (3-day waiting period, LEL threshold, flat weekly rate), it will produce wrong numbers from day one. Speak to your payroll provider now to confirm they are ready.

Any sick pay policy that references the old "first three days unpaid" rule needs rewriting. Many employer handbooks have boilerplate sick pay sections that will be wrong from April.

Managers who handle sickness reporting need to know the new rules. They must not tell employees "you don't get paid for the first three days" because that won't be true any more.

If you've been doing rough cost-of-hire calculations, your numbers will be wrong from April. Add the new SSP exposure to your hiring budget.

The biggest cost increase is for short illnesses (1 to 3 days) which previously cost you nothing in SSP. Expect a noticeable rise in payroll costs for absence-prone roles.

What this means for recruitment agencies

If you're a recruitment agency placing temporary workers, the changes are even bigger because temps go off sick more frequently than permanent staff and you (the agency) are usually the legal employer paying SSP.

You need to do six things before 6 April 2026:

Many agencies have built temp pricing models around the assumption that the first 3 days of sickness cost nothing. From April, every sick day from day one costs the agency. If your margin model is tight, this could push some placements into loss-making territory.

If your charge rate doesn't cover the new SSP exposure, you may need to renegotiate. Better to do this in March than discover the problem in April.

Agency payroll software needs to handle: day-one SSP eligibility, no LEL threshold, the 80% AWE calculation per worker, and linked period tracking. If you use a payroll bureau, confirm they're ready.

With more workers eligible and SSP paid from day one, the 56-day linked period rule becomes commercially significant. A worker off for two days, returning for three weeks, then off again is one linked period for SSP. Get this wrong and you'll either overpay or underpay.

Many agency assignment confirmation letters reference old SSP rules. These need updating before April.

Many clients don't understand SSP and how it affects agency cost models. Get ahead of the conversation by explaining what's changing and why your charge rates may need to reflect it.

How linked periods work under the new rules

This is the most commonly misunderstood part of SSP, and it's even more important under the new rules. Here's how it works:

Two periods of sickness link together if:

When two periods link, they count as a single period for the 28-week maximum.

Example 1

Example 2

Why this matters under the new rules

With day-one SSP eligibility, more workers will trigger SSP for shorter absences. With more SSP triggers happening, the 56-day linked period rule applies more frequently. Agencies and employers will need to track linked periods more carefully than ever.

What good documentation looks like

To stay compliant, every absence record needs to capture:

Paper records or basic spreadsheets are not enough. You need a system that calculates linked periods automatically, applies the correct rate, and keeps an audit trail.

What happens if you get it wrong

Two scenarios. Both are bad.

If you underpay SSP: The worker can complain to HMRC, who will investigate and require you to back-pay the missing amount plus interest. They may also fine you for non-compliance. If the complaint is serious, you could face an employment tribunal claim for unlawful deduction from wages.

If you overpay SSP: You can't reclaim the overpayment in most cases. It's a direct hit to your margin. If you do this systematically across multiple workers, the cumulative cost can be significant.

The Fair Work Agency, established under the Employment Rights Act 2025, will have the power to investigate SSP compliance from January 2027. Employers found systematically getting SSP wrong will face enforcement action.

How PRODICTA helps with SSP compliance

PRODICTA includes built-in SSP tracking for both direct employers and recruitment agencies placing temporary workers.

The platform automatically:

If you're hiring permanent staff or placing temps, PRODICTA handles SSP from day one of every assignment so you never overpay or underpay.

You can book a demo at prodicta.co.uk or try the free hiring risk audit to see what SSP exposure is built into your current hiring process.

Your action checklist before 6 April 2026

For direct employers

For recruitment agencies

For both

Download the full PDF guide

The PDF version includes all the new SSP rules in a single-page reference format, plus worked examples, the linked period flowchart, an action checklist for both employers and agencies, and templates for absence record-keeping.

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