Statutory sick pay: what you will actually be paid

What SSP leaves you, against normal pay

SSP is earnings, so income tax and National Insurance come off it exactly as they come off wages. At this level almost nothing is due — which is why the monthly SSP figure below is close to the gross. Computed on the 2026/27 rates, checked 2026-08-28.

The shortfall is the number to check your contract against. Many employers pay full or half salary for a set period before dropping to SSP, and that clause is worth more than any calculation here.

Two rules that recently changed

If you are working from older advice, two things it says are no longer true.

• The three unpaid “waiting days” are gone. SSP used to start on the fourth qualifying day, so a short absence often paid nothing at all. gov.uk now states you are paid “for all the full days you're off sick that you normally would have worked”, and you qualify after one full working day rather than four.
• There is now an 80% cap. SSP is no longer a flat rate for everyone: it is £123.25 or 80% of your normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower. That only bites below about £8,011 a year — above that, 80% of your pay exceeds the flat rate, so you get the full £123.25. Below it, part-time and lower-paid workers get less than the headline figure, which is the detail most calculators still miss.

How long it lasts

SSP runs for a maximum of 28 weeks in one period of sickness — at the full rate that is £3,451 in total, and then it stops entirely. Separate absences less than eight weeks apart are “linked” and count towards the same 28. If you are still unable to work when SSP ends, Employment and Support Allowance is the fallback, and your employer should give you form SSP1 to start that claim.

Who cannot get it

You must be classed as an employee and have done some work for your employer. The self-employed cannot claim SSP at all. You also will not get it if you are already receiving Statutory Maternity Pay — see the maternity pay calculator for what that pays instead. If you are off for more than seven days in a row, including non-working days, your employer can ask for a fit note.

Why your payslip may still look strange

SSP is paid through payroll on your normal payday, mixed in with any contractual sick pay, so the deduction lines rarely say “SSP” on their own. National Insurance is also worked out per pay period rather than across the year, so a month that mixes normal pay and SSP can produce a figure that looks wrong but is not. The payslip checker is the quickest way to test a month you do not recognise, and how to read your payslip explains each line.

Related guides

All 11 guides are listed on the guides index, and every calculator on the home page.