Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the legal minimum an employer must pay when illness stops an eligible employee working. This guide explains how much it pays, how long it lasts, who qualifies and why it matters for household budgeting.
What is Statutory Sick Pay and who pays it?
SSP is paid by your employer, not by the government directly. According to GOV.UK, it is paid through your normal wages, whether those are weekly or monthly, and tax and National Insurance are deducted from it in the usual way. If you have more than one job, you may be entitled to SSP from each employer.
The amount set in law is a floor, not a ceiling. GOV.UK states that the statutory amount is the least you can get, and that a company sick pay scheme can pay more. Whether your employer offers anything beyond SSP is a matter for your contract or staff handbook, which makes it one of the more valuable documents to read before you need it.
How much does SSP pay each week?
As of 11 October 2026, GOV.UK gives the SSP rate as £123.25 a week, or 80% of your normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower. You are paid for each full day you are off sick that you would normally have worked.
Your employer works out your average weekly earnings over an eight-week period. GOV.UK adds that you can still qualify if you have not yet received eight weeks’ pay, for example because you started a new job recently.
The “whichever is lower” wording creates a crossover point. The illustrative arithmetic below shows how it works:
| Normal weekly earnings | 80% of earnings | SSP payable (lower of the two) |
|---|---|---|
| £100 | £80.00 | £80.00 |
| £140 | £112.00 | £112.00 |
| £154.07 or more | £123.26 or more | £123.25 (the flat cap) |
| £400 | £320.00 | £123.25 |
| £800 | £640.00 | £123.25 |
The crossover sits at about £154 a week (£123.25 divided by 0.8 is £154.06). Anyone earning above that receives the flat rate, so the higher your normal pay, the larger the share of it that goes missing.
How long does SSP last?
GOV.UK says your employer pays SSP for up to 28 weeks. Illustratively, 28 weeks at the full flat rate comes to £3,451.00 (28 × £123.25), before tax and National Insurance.
Separate periods of illness can be linked. According to GOV.UK, linked periods can count together if each lasts more than one full working day and they fall eight weeks or less apart. A continuous series of linked periods stops qualifying you once it runs beyond three years. This matters for recurring conditions, because a person who keeps returning to work for short spells may find the clock has not reset.
Who is eligible, and who is not?
GOV.UK sets out the main conditions:
- You must be classed as an employee and have done some work for your employer. Agency workers may also be entitled.
- You must have been ill for at least one full working day.
- You must tell your employer you cannot work by the deadline they set, or within seven days if they have not set one. Late notice could cost you some SSP.
- You need a fit note if you are off for more than seven days in a row, counting non-working days.
Fit notes can come from a range of professionals, including a GP, hospital doctor, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist. If your employer agrees, other evidence, such as a return-to-work plan, can be used instead.
Some people are excluded. GOV.UK says you are not eligible if you have already received the maximum 28 weeks of SSP or if you are receiving Statutory Maternity Pay. Self-employed people are not classed as employees for this purpose, which is a significant gap for freelancers and sole traders.
What happens if you do not qualify, or SSP runs out?
If you do not qualify, GOV.UK says your employer must send you form SSP1 within seven days of your first day off sick. The form can support an application for Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
ESA is aimed at people whose disability or health condition affects their ability to work. GOV.UK says you can apply whether you are an employee, self-employed or unemployed. During the assessment phase, which normally lasts 13 weeks, the page lists up to £75.65 a week if you are under 25 and up to £95.55 a week if you are 25 or over. After assessment, the work-related activity group receives up to £95.55 a week and the support group up to £145.90 a week. Payments are made every two weeks. GOV.UK also notes that New Style ESA can be reduced if you receive more than £85 a week from a private pension.
Benefit entitlement depends on individual circumstances, such as savings, a partner’s income and housing costs, so the official guidance and an independent adviser are the right places to check what applies to you.
How big is the gap between SSP and normal pay?
The shortfall is easiest to see in a worked example. Take an employee whose normal pay is £500 a week before tax.
- 80% of £500 is £400, which is higher than the cap, so SSP is £123.25.
- The weekly shortfall is £500 minus £123.25, or £376.75.
- SSP replaces about 24.65% of normal pay (£123.25 divided by £500).
- Over four weeks, SSP totals £493.00 against normal pay of £2,000, a gap of £1,507.00.
These are gross figures, so take-home pay would differ, and the real gap depends on tax, pension contributions and other deductions. The principle holds, though. For anyone earning above roughly £154 a week, SSP is a fraction of ordinary income, while rent or mortgage payments, energy bills and food costs usually stay the same.
Is your employer’s sick pay better than the statutory minimum?
Many employers offer contractual or occupational sick pay that tops up the statutory figure, sometimes for a limited number of weeks and sometimes depending on length of service. GOV.UK’s guidance makes clear that such schemes can pay more than SSP, so the useful questions to ask are practical ones:
- Does the scheme pay full pay, half pay or only SSP?
- For how many weeks, and does entitlement build up with service?
- Are there conditions, such as fit notes from day one?
- Does contractual pay include or replace SSP?
The answers can differ sharply between a large employer with a formal scheme and a small business that pays only the statutory minimum. Knowing which camp you are in helps determine how large your own cash buffer needs to be.
How can a household plan around the income gap?
Because SSP is a floor, resilience planning usually means estimating the gap and deciding how it would be filled. That might include cash savings, employer top-ups, benefits or private cover such as income protection, although whether any of these suit a particular household is a personal decision. The wider framework is covered in what financial resilience means and in building a practical safety net.
A few budgeting steps are common:
- Work out the weekly shortfall. Compare SSP, or your employer’s scheme, with essential outgoings rather than with normal pay.
- Identify which costs can be paused or cut. A review of recurring costs can show what could be trimmed quickly.
- Think about debt payments. Minimum repayments continue during illness, and how to think about managing debt covers how repayments fit into a wider budget.
- Keep paperwork ready. Fit notes, the SSP1 form and employer correspondence all support a later benefit claim.
Conclusion: knowing the floor before you need it
SSP is a modest, time-limited safety net: up to £123.25 a week for up to 28 weeks, according to GOV.UK as of 11 October 2026, and never more than 80% of normal weekly earnings. For lower earners it replaces most of their pay, but for those above about £154 a week it replaces a shrinking share. Checking your contract, estimating your own shortfall and understanding the benefits fallback turns an abstract protection into a concrete figure that can be built into a household plan.
This article provides general information and is not personalised financial advice. Rules, rates and thresholds change, so check current official guidance before making decisions.
Sources: GOV.UK
