Published: 09 Jul, 2026Payroll

SSP Cost Calculator UK: Employer Sick Pay Guide 2026/27

The 2026 Statutory Sick Pay changes turned short sickness absence into a payroll cost that more employers need to model properly.

Use the Workmax SSP cost calculator to estimate the budget impact of day-one SSP, then use this guide to check the payroll assumptions behind the result.

Last reviewed: 9 July 2026 against current GOV.UK, Business.gov.uk, HMRC, ACAS, CIPD, BrightPay, Sage, Xero, and PayFit guidance for 2026/27 UK Statutory Sick Pay.

This is general payroll and workforce guidance, not legal, tax, accountancy, or financial advice. Check official guidance and take professional advice for complex sickness, linked absence, transitional, or contractual sick pay cases.

Quick answer

From 6 April 2026, eligible UK employees can receive Statutory Sick Pay from the first full qualifying day of sickness absence. The old three waiting days have been removed, and the Lower Earnings Limit no longer stops lower-paid employees from qualifying.

For 2026/27, SSP is the lower of:

GBP 123.25 per week; or
80% of the employee's average weekly earnings.

The daily amount depends on the employee's qualifying days in the week. Employers cannot recover SSP from HMRC, so the cost needs to sit in payroll, absence, rota, and workforce planning.

For a cost forecast, the most useful inputs are:

number of employees in the group;
average weekly earnings;
qualifying days per week;
expected sick days that will now be paid from day one;
expected employees newly eligible because the earnings threshold has gone;
whether company sick pay already covers some or all of the statutory cost.

The SSP cost calculator helps compare the old waiting-day and earnings-threshold position with the 2026/27 rules.

What changed for employers in April 2026

The change is not just a rate increase. It changes who qualifies, which absence days are paid, and how low earnings are handled.

The practical changes are:

SSP is payable from the first full day of sickness absence.
The Lower Earnings Limit has been removed for SSP eligibility.
The weekly rate is capped at GBP 123.25, but lower earners may receive 80% of average weekly earnings instead.
The daily rate depends on qualifying days in the week.
SSP remains an employer cost and is not generally recoverable from HMRC.
Absences that started before 6 April 2026 may need transitional treatment.

For employers with salaried office teams, the cost may be manageable but still needs a payroll control. For employers with rota-based, part-time, hourly, hospitality, cleaning, care, retail, or agency-style teams, the cost can be more visible because short absences and cover shifts happen more often.

That is why an SSP calculation should not live only inside a payslip. It should be connected to absence records, rota cover, payroll cut-off, employee communications, and budget reporting.

Worked example: 40 hourly employees with short absences

Imagine a care or hospitality employer has 40 hourly employees in a workforce group.

Assumptions:

average weekly earnings: GBP 210;
qualifying days per week: 5;
expected paid short-absence days per employee each year under the new day-one rules: 2;
2026/27 SSP weekly cap: GBP 123.25;
old rules: many one-, two-, and three-day absences did not create SSP because of waiting days.

First, check the weekly SSP rate:

80% of GBP 210 = GBP 168.

The weekly cap of GBP 123.25 is lower, so use GBP 123.25.

Then calculate the daily SSP amount:

GBP 123.25 / 5 qualifying days = GBP 24.65 per qualifying day.

Then estimate the new annual day-one SSP cost:

40 employees x 2 paid short-absence days x GBP 24.65 = GBP 1,972.

That is only the statutory sick pay line. It does not include replacement cover, overtime, agency cover, rota disruption, manager time, occupational sick pay, or missed service delivery.

If average weekly earnings are lower, the 80% rule can reduce the daily SSP amount. For example, if an employee's average weekly earnings are GBP 145, 80% is GBP 116. With 4 qualifying days, the daily rate is GBP 29. If they are sick for 2 qualifying days, SSP is GBP 58.

Run the scenario in the SSP cost calculator, then test separate groups for salaried staff, part-time staff, zero-hours staff, and any team with a different pattern of qualifying days.

Common payroll mistake: using last year's waiting-day logic

The biggest payroll mistake is treating 2026/27 absences like 2025/26 absences.

That can create three problems:

short absences are unpaid when they should now be paid;
lower-paid employees are wrongly excluded because an old earnings-threshold check is still in the payroll process;
managers tell employees out-of-date information about waiting days.

The operational mistake is similar: employers update the payroll software but leave the sickness policy, manager script, rota process, and employee handbook unchanged.

The result is a messy gap between what payroll calculates and what managers believe. That gap matters because SSP questions often appear when someone is already ill, stressed, or checking a payslip they do not understand.

How to calculate SSP for 2026/27

Use this sequence before approving the payroll result.

Confirm the person is an eligible employee.
Confirm the first full day of sickness absence.
Check whether the absence started before 6 April 2026 and needs transitional treatment.
Work out average weekly earnings using the relevant period before the first complete day of sickness.
Compare 80% of average weekly earnings with GBP 123.25.
Use whichever weekly amount is lower.
Divide by qualifying days for the week.
Multiply by the number of qualifying days off sick.
Check whether the 28-week maximum or any linked absence rule affects payment.
Pay SSP through payroll on the normal pay date and keep the record.

The take-home pay calculator can help employees understand wider net pay impact, while the true cost of hire calculator can help employers model wider workforce cost beyond SSP.

Employer checklist before the next pay run

Use this checklist if your payroll process has not been reviewed since 6 April 2026.

Remove old references to three unpaid waiting days from sickness policies and employee handbooks.
Remove old SSP eligibility checks that depend only on the Lower Earnings Limit.
Confirm payroll software is using the lower of GBP 123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings.
Check how the system handles daily rates for 1 to 7 qualifying days.
Identify employees who may now qualify despite low or variable earnings.
Review transitional cases where sickness started before 6 April 2026.
Train managers not to promise unpaid waiting days or old eligibility rules.
Connect sickness absence records to payroll cut-off dates.
Decide how company sick pay interacts with statutory sick pay.
Keep evidence of sickness dates, qualifying days, AWE calculations, and payments.

If employees are paid hourly, use the hourly rate calculator to sanity-check pay assumptions before modelling average weekly earnings. If absence affects holiday or leaver pay, the holiday pay calculator may also be relevant.

What other SSP guides and calculators often miss

Most reference pages explain the rule change clearly. GOV.UK and Business.gov.uk are the sources of truth for rates, eligibility, daily rates, and transitional rules. ACAS and CIPD add useful employer process guidance. BrightPay, Sage, Xero, and PayFit explain payroll software and statutory-pay handling.

The gap is employer cost planning.

Many SSP pages answer "what is the rate?" but do not help payroll and operations teams estimate:

extra paid days created by day-one SSP;
employees newly eligible because the earnings threshold has gone;
part-time and variable-hours examples;
the difference between statutory pay cost and cover cost;
which internal records must be linked before pay run approval;
how to explain the change to line managers and employees.

That is the Workmax angle: employers need the calculation, but they also need the absence-to-payroll workflow behind the calculation.

How Workmax helps payroll teams

Workmax helps employers connect the records that make SSP calculations less fragile: employee details, absence, time records, holidays, approvals, payroll-ready data, payslips, and reporting.

That matters because SSP is rarely just a single payroll input. A one-day sickness absence may affect rota cover, manager approval, payroll cut-off, pay explanations, sickness triggers, and future absence reporting.

Use the SSP cost calculator for the first estimate. Then explore Workmax payroll if sickness absence, time records, and payroll changes are still being reconciled across spreadsheets, email threads, and disconnected systems.

FAQs

What is an SSP cost calculator?

An SSP cost calculator estimates how much Statutory Sick Pay could cost an employer under the current rules. A useful employer calculator should model day-one SSP, average weekly earnings, qualifying days, lower earners, and expected sickness volume.

What is the SSP weekly rate for 2026/27?

For 2026/27, Statutory Sick Pay is the lower of GBP 123.25 per week or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings. The daily amount depends on the employee's qualifying days.

Does SSP start from day one in the UK?

Yes. From 6 April 2026, SSP is payable from the first full qualifying day of sickness absence for eligible employees. The previous three waiting days have been removed.

Do employees still need to earn above the Lower Earnings Limit for SSP?

No. The Lower Earnings Limit no longer blocks eligible employees from SSP. Lower-paid employees may receive 80% of average weekly earnings if that is lower than the flat weekly cap.

Can employers recover SSP from HMRC?

No. GOV.UK's 2026/27 employer rates guidance says employers cannot recover Statutory Sick Pay. That makes SSP a direct payroll cost to budget for.

How do qualifying days affect SSP?

Qualifying days are the days an employee normally works or is expected to work. To calculate a daily SSP amount, divide the weekly SSP rate by the qualifying days in that week, then multiply by the qualifying days off sick.

How long can SSP be paid?

GOV.UK says SSP can be paid for up to 28 weeks. Employers should also check linked absences, employee circumstances, and whether another statutory payment or benefit affects eligibility.

What if sickness started before 6 April 2026?

Check the GOV.UK transitional guidance. Some absences spanning 6 April 2026 move onto the new rules, while long continuous or linked absences may need different treatment.

Is company sick pay the same as SSP?

No. SSP is the statutory minimum. Company or occupational sick pay can be more generous, but employers need to check the contract, policy, and payroll setup so statutory and contractual pay are handled correctly.