# payroll.statutory-sick-pay
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) due from one employer for a run of sickness spells.
Pass every spell of sickness in date order (earlier ones matter: they can link
to later ones), the employee's qualifying days as ISO weekdays, and their
normal weekly earnings. The answer is split into SSP weeks, which run Sunday
to Saturday, because that is how the daily amount is set: the weekly rate
divided by the number of qualifying days in the week.
## The rules, and when they changed
Every day is judged by the rule row in force on that day (`data/ssp-rules.json`).
Up to 5 April 2026:
- A spell is only a **period of incapacity for work** (PIW) if it lasts at
least 4 consecutive days, counting every calendar day. Shorter spells pay
nothing and link nothing.
- The first **3 qualifying days** of a period of entitlement are waiting days
and are not paid.
- Earnings below the **lower earnings limit** (£123 in 2023-24 and 2024-25,
£125 in 2025-26) mean no SSP at all.
- The weekly rate is a flat £109.40 (2023-24), £116.75 (2024-25), £118.75 (2025-26).
From 6 April 2026 (Employment Rights Act 2025 ss.10 and 11, commenced by
SI 2026/373 reg 2):
- A PIW is **one day or more**; there are **no waiting days**; there is **no
lower earnings limit**.
- The weekly rate is the **lower of £123.25 and 80% of normal weekly earnings**.
The 80% figure is kept exact and only the day amount is rounded, so a
£123.33 earner gets £98.664 a week and £19.74 for one day of a five-day week.
Throughout:
- PIWs separated by **8 weeks (56 days) or less** link into one (SSCBA 1992
s.152(3)); a gap of 57 days starts a new period of entitlement with fresh
waiting days. "Separated by" counts the days in between: a spell ending on
5 June links to one starting on 1 August but not 2 August.
- At most **28 weeks** of SSP per period of entitlement (s.155), counted as
weeks of qualifying days, and a linked period of entitlement ends after
**3 years** (SSP (General) Regulations 1982 reg 3(3)). `entitlementExhausted`
says a qualifying day went unpaid for either reason.
- The amount for k paid days in a week of q qualifying days is
`ceil(weekly rate x k / q)` to the penny. That reproduces HMRC's published
daily tables exactly (for example £47.50 for 2 of 5 days at £118.75, £16.68
for 1 of 7 days at £116.75).
## Spells across 6 April 2026
SI 2026/373 regs 3 to 5 have transitional rules. This capability models them
only as far as "each day uses the rule in force on that day": waiting days
served on or before 5 April stay waiting days, and qualifying days from 6 April
are paid (which is what reg 3 provides). Reg 4 (employees earning £125 to
£154.05 whose entitlement began before 6 April keep the flat £123.25 rather than
80%) and reg 5 (a period that did not qualify because of the LEL) are **not**
modelled: the caller must handle those cases.
## What the caller must supply or decide
- Normal weekly earnings, worked out over the 8-week relevant period (SSP
(General) Regulations 1982 reg 19). One figure is used for every spell.
- The qualifying days: one fixed weekly pattern (at least one a week, s.154(3)).
- Whether the employee qualifies at all in other respects (maternity
disqualification, custody, contract ended, 12-week ESA link, agency rules):
none of that is checked here.
- A week in which the rule changes gets one line per rule, so a rate rise on
a Monday gives the Sunday line under the old rule and the rest under the new.
A build installed with `history=current` keeps only the rule still in force
and refuses earlier dates rather than paying them at today's rate.
## Sources
- HMRC, "Rates and thresholds for employers" 2023 to 2024, 2024 to 2025, 2025
to 2026 and 2026 to 2027 (SSP weekly rates, LELs and the daily-rate tables):
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2023-to-2024,
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2024-to-2025,
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2025-to-2026,
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027
- GOV.UK, "Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): employer guide" (£123.25 or 80% of AWE;
linked periods 8 weeks or less apart; paid from the first full working day):
https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 ss.152-155 and 157 as amended:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/4/section/152,
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/4/section/155
- Employment Rights Act 2025 ss.10 and 11:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/36/section/10,
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/36/section/11
- The Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional
Provisions) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/373): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/373/made
- The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026 (SI 2026/148) art. 8 (£123.25):
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/148/made
- Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982 regs 3(3) and 19:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/894/regulation/3
## Before you rely on this
**Not professional advice.** This capability calculates payroll figures from published rules. It is a software component for developers, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and every rate here has an effective date. Check that the dates cover your case. Verify results against the official sources listed above, and have a payroll specialist review how you use it, before anyone relies on the output. Provided "as is" under its licence, without warranty.
**Unreviewed.** This capability's implementations agree in every language and pass its published test vectors, which were worked out from the official sources cited. But no qualified payroll specialist has yet checked those vectors, or confirmed that the capability covers the cases it claims. Treat it as a draft. Do not use it for real people, money or decisions without your own expert review. Once a qualified reviewer signs off, this notice is replaced with their name, qualification and the date. Each new version needs fresh sign-off.
## Notices
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government
Licence v3.0 (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/).
Legislation: Crown copyright and database right.
1.0.1 marks it unreviewed and adds its attribution notices (NOTICE). The code and the tests are unchanged.