From April 2026 (Date to be confirmed), employees will receive Statutory Sick Pay from the very first day they are off work. No more waiting until day four. No more unpaid short-term absences.
The Employment Rights Bill eliminates the three-day waiting period and removes the lower earnings threshold. This is not a cosmetic change. It has real, immediate cost implications for employers – especially those with high levels of short-term absence.
Below outlines what this change means:
First, all employees will now be eligible for SSP if they earn any money, regardless of how many hours they work each week. In contrast to before, a worker who works one shift per week and receives minimum pay will still be eligible. Subject to a £118.75 cap, SSP will be calculated at 80% of their typical weekly income.
Second, companies who offer SSP-aligned enhanced sick pay plans will have to review. You must now update your policy if your increased sick pay only began to accrue after three days, as required by law. Otherwise, you run the risk of your employees getting full pay right away, without any changes to their contracts.
Third, short-term absences will have a greater cost impact. Employees are now paid for taking every other Monday off.
To ensure you are ready for this change we suggest:
- Employers start to look at updating your sickness absence policies
- Consider amending enhanced sick pay schemes
- Start monitoring absence patterns and ensure you have return-to-work processes in place and
- Train your managers on how to handle short-term absence management capability concerns, and medical referrals with confidence
For more information reach out to our HR Consultants on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and we will be in touch.