Preparing for Day One Sick Pay: A Practical Guide for UK Employers – April 2026

From 6 April 2026, UK employment law is getting its biggest shake-up in years. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is turning into a “day one” right.

In plain English: the three unpaid “waiting days” are gone. If an employee is too unwell to work, they’re eligible for SSP from the very first day they’re off. On top of that, the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) is being scrapped for SSP purposes, meaning even your part-time or lower-paid staff will now qualify.

While these reforms offer a vital safety net for workers, they do land employers with extra costs and a fair bit of admin. Here is the breakdown of what you need to know and how to keep your business on the right side of the law.

What’s changing?

For most staff, the flat rate of £123.25 applies. However, for lower earners, a new calculation kicks in: they receive the lower of the flat rate or 80% of their average weekly earnings. This ensures no one ends up with more money while sick than they do while working.

It’s worth bookmarking these official pages, as HMRC and ACAS will be updating their calculators and forms closer to the deadline:

• ACAS: Statutory Sick Pay Guide – The best place for clear advice on eligibility and the new 2025 Act.
• GOV.UK: Rates & Thresholds 2026/27 – The official table for daily SSP rates and NI thresholds.
• GOV.UK: SSP Calculator – This tool will be updated to reflect the removal of waiting days and the 80% cap.
• Form SSP1 – Use this to tell an employee why they aren’t entitled to SSP (e.g., if they’ve already had 28 weeks).

• Budgeting: You’ll be paying out for single-day absences that used to cost nothing. If you have a high turnover of short-term sickness, costs will climb.
• The Admin Burden: You now have to track and record every sick day, not just the long-term ones. Calculating 80% of earnings for part-timers is also a manual headache you don’t want.
• Compliance: Getting the daily rate wrong—especially with “linked” periods of sickness—can lead to HMRC fines or messy disputes at a tribunal.

We’ve built Bizimply specifically for industries like hospitality and retail where shift patterns change and short-term absences are common. We’ve already updated our platform to handle the 2026 rules.

• One-Click Logging: When someone calls in, managers just log. Automatic Calculations: No more spreadsheets. We calculate the correct rate—whether it’s the £123.25 cap or the 80% earnings limit—based on their actual hours worked.
• Payroll Integration: We export clean, accurate data directly into Sage, Xero, Moorepay, and more. Your payroll run stays fast and compliant.
• Compliance Audits: If HMRC ever comes knocking, you’ve got a full digital trail of every sick day, fit note, and payment made.

The best time to tighten up your absence tracking is now. If you’re still using paper rotas or basic spreadsheets, the 2026 changes will be a struggle.

Book a quick 15-minute demo and discover how Bizimply automatically handles these new SSP calculations.