Statutory sick pay calculator 2026/27
- SSP at £123.25 a week for up to 28 weeks
- Daily rate for your working pattern
- Handles the 80% of earnings cap for lower earners
- 2026/27 rates, paid from day one
Statutory sick pay for this absence
£246.50
10 qualifying days at £24.65 a day.
| Weekly SSP rate | £123.25 |
| Daily rate | £24.65 |
| Qualifying days paid | 10 |
| Total SSP | £246.50 |
SSP is £123.25 a week, or 80% of your average weekly earnings if that's lower. Paid for up to 28 weeks and taxed like normal pay. Figures use HMRC 2026/27 rates. Source: gov.uk
Statutory sick pay is the legal minimum your employer must pay when you're off sick. For 2026/27 it's £123.25 a week, paid for up to 28 weeks. If 80% of your average weekly earnings comes to less than £123.25, you get that lower figure instead. Over the full 28 weeks the maximum SSP works out at £3,451.
The weekly rate is split into a daily rate based on the days you normally work. If you work 5 days a week, each qualifying sick day is worth £123.25 / 5 = £24.65. SSP is only paid for days you'd otherwise have worked, so a part-time worker on 3 days gets a higher daily rate (£41.08) but across fewer days.
From April 2026 the old three unpaid waiting days were scrapped. SSP is now paid from the first qualifying day you're off, which matters for short absences that previously fell entirely in the unpaid window. The same reform removed the lower earnings limit test, so lower-paid workers now qualify too, capped at the lower of £123.25 or 80% of their weekly pay.
Sick pay counts as earnings, so income tax and National Insurance come off through PAYE the same as your normal wages. Many employers offer contractual sick pay above the statutory minimum, sometimes full pay for a period, so check your contract. What's shown here is the statutory floor your employer can't go below. To see your take-home on your normal salary, use the main salary calculator.
SSP is low, well below the minimum wage for a full week. If you're off long-term or it doesn't cover your costs, you may be able to claim Universal Credit alongside it, or Employment and Support Allowance once SSP runs out at 28 weeks. Check what you're entitled to rather than relying on SSP alone for a long absence.