Sick Pay Calculator

How Statutory Sick Pay works in 2026/27

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the legal minimum your employer must pay when you're too ill to work. For the 2026/27 tax year the rate is £118.75 a week. Two features catch most people out: the 3 waiting days at the start, and the fact that SSP is paid per qualifying day rather than as a flat weekly sum.

You become entitled to SSP from the 4th qualifying day of sickness. The first three qualifying days — the days you would normally have worked — are unpaid "waiting days". They only reset if your periods of sickness are more than 8 weeks apart; closer than that and they're treated as "linked", so you don't serve a fresh three days each time.

The daily rate explained

Because SSP is paid only for qualifying days, the £118.75 weekly figure is divided by the number of days you normally work. For a standard 5-day week, each paid day is worth about £23.75 (£118.75 ÷ 5). Someone working a 3-day week gets a higher per-day figure of roughly £39.58, because the same weekly amount is spread over fewer days.

To qualify for SSP you must be classed as an employee, have been off sick for at least 4 days in a row (including non-working days), and earn at least the lower earnings limit of £125 a week on average.

A worked example: 10 sick days, 5-day week

Say you're off for 10 qualifying days and normally work 5 days a week:

• The first 3 days are unpaid waiting days.
• That leaves 7 paid days at £23.75 each = £166.25 of SSP.

SSP counts as earnings, so it goes through PAYE. If your employer also operates contractual sick pay, you usually get the higher of the two. Model your wider take-home with the salary calculator.