01/04/2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No.3 and Transitional Provisions Regulations 2026 update both the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rules in Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland (N.I.)

What is changing?

The Regulations amend the bringing into effect of two major changes:

• Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982 (GB)
• Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations (N.I.) 1982

1. Removal of Waiting Days

Employees will now be entitled to SSP from Day One of sickness absence, rather than Day Four.

2. 2. Removal of Lower Earnings Limit

Employees will no longer need to earn above the Lower Earnings Limit to qualify for SSP. This means all employees, including lower‑paid and part‑time workers, will be eligible.

For lower earners, SSP will be paid at 80% of normal weekly earnings or the standard SSP rate, whichever is lower.

COMMENCEMENT DATE

These changes take effect on 6 April 2026 and apply in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland from this date.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

The Government has published Guidance: Sickness absences that start before and end on or after 6 April 2026 and more technical guidance that can be accessed here SSP-Transitional-Protections-Guidance-published (003)

 

The transitional arrangements will apply where sickness absence began before 6 April 2026 and continues on or after that date.

• If an employee is serving waiting days under the old rules when 6 April 2026 arrives:
• Waiting days before 6 April 2026 remain unpaid.
• From 6 April 2026 onwards, waiting days no longer apply.
• SSP becomes payable from 6 April 2026, even if the absence began earlier.

There is no back‑payment for waiting days that fell before 6 April 2026.

2. Employees previously excluded due to low earnings (below the Lower Earnings Limit)

If an employee started their sickness absence before 6 April 2026 and was not entitled to SSP under the old rules, because they earned below the Lower Earnings Limit:

They may become entitled to SSP from 6 April 2026, provided:

• The sickness absence started on or after 22 September 2025, or
• The absence started earlier, but the employee returned to work at some point between 22 September 2025 and 5 April 2026 (so the absence is not continuous).

In these cases:

• SSP is payable from 6 April 2026.
• SSP is payable for up to 28 weeks, calculated using average weekly earnings before the sickness absence.

3. 3. Long‑running continuous absences that began before 22 September 2025

An employee will not become entitled to SSP from 6 April 2026 if:

• Their sickness absence started on or before 21 September 2025, and
• The absence continued without any break up to 5 April 2026, and
• The absence (or a linked absence) continues on or after 6 April 2026.

In these circumstances:

• The employee must return to work for at least 8 weeks before a new SSP entitlement can arise.

4. 4. Employees already receiving SSP before 6 April 2026

Where an employee is already entitled to SSP before 6 April 2026, and the new rules would otherwise result in a lower rate of SSP (for example, due to the move to 80% of earnings):

• The transitional protection applies.
• SSP will continue to be paid at the uprated flat rate for the remainder of that continuous period of sickness, until:
• the employee returns to work,
• the 28‑week SSP limit is reached, or
• SSP entitlement otherwise ends.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR EMPLOYERS

There will be no retrospective payment for waiting days that fell before 6 April 2026. Some employees who were previously excluded from Statutory Sick Pay may become entitled part‑way through an ongoing sickness absence once the new rules take effect. However, long‑running continuous absences that began before 22 September 2025 will remain excluded until the employee returns to work. Employers should therefore check entitlement carefully before paying SSP in transitional cases.