Statutory sick pay (SSP) provides a measure of earnings replacement for employees who are off work through illness. Employers must pay this to their employees who satisfy all the qualifying conditions.

You do not have to pay SSP to your employee if you pay wages or occupational (contractual) sick pay to your employee for the same days that they would be entitled to SSP if it is more than, or the same as, the current rate of SSP.

Qualifying conditions for SSP

You must pay SSP to your employee if they satisfy all of the following conditions.

They must:

• have notified you of their sickness within your own time limits or, if you haven't informed them in advance of any time limits, no later than seven days after the first day of sickness
• be employed by you and have done some work for you under their contract
• be sick for four or more days in a row, including weekends and bank holidays - this is known as the period of incapacity for work (PIW)
• have average weekly earnings equal to or more than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution (NIC) purposes - see earnings-related qualification for statutory sick pay
• be an employed earner, ie, have earnings on which you are liable to pay employer's Class 1 NICs, or would be liable to pay but for their age or level of earnings

Part-time, temporary, agency, or casual workers may also be entitled to SSP if they satisfy all of the qualifying conditions for payment.

In any one PIW, SSP is payable to the individual up to a maximum of 28 weeks.

Read an overview of statutory sick pay - GOV.UK guidance.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) advice on managing sickness absence.

To qualify for statutory sick pay (SSP), an employee must have average weekly earnings (AWE) at or above the lower earnings limit (LEL) - £125 a week in the 2025-26 tax year - regardless of whether they are required to pay National Insurance contributions.

You should calculate AWE by using a set period of time (the relevant period) prior to the start of the employee's 'period of incapacity for work'. The period must be at least eight weeks long and is marked by two pay dates:

• date one - the last normal pay date before the employee's first complete day of sickness
• date two - the last normal pay date falling not less than eight weeks before the pay date above

The relevant period is calculated from the day after date two up to and including date one.

Calculating average earnings for weekly paid employees

If your employee is paid once a week or in multiples of a week, eg, fortnightly or every four weeks:

• add together the gross earnings in the relevant period, including any bonuses and commissions
• divide the total by the number of weeks in the period

Calculating average earnings for monthly paid employees

The payment for monthly paid employees is calculated on the same basis as weekly paid employees:

• Add together the gross earnings during the period.
• Divide the total by the number of months in the period. If this is not a whole number of months, round to the nearest whole number.
• Multiply by 12.
• Divide by 52.

For details on how to calculate average earnings, see an overview of SSP.

Action if your employee is not entitled to SSP

If your employee is not entitled to SSP but has been incapable of work for at least four days in a row, you should advise them to claim employment and support allowance (ESA) from the Jobs & Benefits office. You should also give them form SSP1 as soon as possible to help support a claim for ESA.

Within limits, you can set up your own rules about how your employees inform you when they are sick.

You should only consider paying statutory sick pay (SSP) once an employee has been sick for at least four calendar days in a row. This period of sickness is known as a period of incapacity for work (PIW) and may include weekends and bank holidays.

Linking periods

If a PIW starts within eight weeks of the end of a previous PIW, the periods are linked and count as one period of sickness.

Waiting days

The first three qualifying days in a PIW are called waiting days (WDs). SSP is not payable for WDs. Where PIWs are linked, and all three WDs have been served in the first PIW, there will be no WDs in any later linked spells of sickness.

If all three WDs have not been served in the first PIW, any remaining WDs must be served at the beginning of the next linked PIW.

Qualifying days

These are the employee's contractual or normal working days unless other days have been agreed upon with the workforce. SSP is paid for each qualifying day after the waiting days.

Payment of SSP during a phased return to work

If the employee has previously been off sick and you have agreed to a phased return to work, you must consider payment of the employee's normal wages for days worked and SSP for days not worked in the normal working week.

Stopping payment of SSP

SSP usually stops once an employee returns to work for their regular number of days and/or hours. You should calculate if any SSP is still owing to them for previous days of sickness - pay any outstanding money on their next normal pay day.

Stop paying SSP if your employee:

• is still off sick after SSP has been paid for 28 weeks
• has had linked periods of sickness that have spanned a period of three years - even if you haven't paid a total of 28 weeks' worth of SSP

You also stop paying SSP to an employee if she starts receiving statutory maternity pay (SMP) - or maternity allowance (MA) if she doesn't qualify for SMP. The employee would start receiving SMP or MA if she either:

• Has chosen to start receiving SMP or MA on a particular date, which also happens to be when she would be due SSP.
• Is off sick for a pregnancy-related illness within four weeks of the start of her expected week of childbirth or the date she has chosen for her SMP to begin, whichever is earlier. In these circumstances, she stops working and starts to receive SMP or MA automatically.

If an employee is not entitled to SMP or MA, and is not already receiving SSP, she will be disqualified from receiving SSP for a period of 18 weeks.

Issuing the SSP1 form

If you stop paying an employee SSP and they are still off sick, you should advise them to make a claim for employment and support allowance (ESA) from their local Jobs & Benefits office. You must complete form SSP1 and send it to the employee immediately. Form SSP1 is used to support a claim for ESA.

If you know in advance that an employee will be off sick for more than 28 weeks, you should send the SSP1 form to them up to six weeks before the end of this 28-week period so that they can claim ESA without delay.

For more information on making and stopping SSP payments, see an overview of SSP.

If your employee satisfies the qualifying conditions for statutory sick pay (SSP), you should work out how much SSP is due. You should then pay it on the same day that you would normally pay them their wages for the same period.

For the qualifying conditions, see what is statutory sick pay and who gets it?

SSP is paid at a daily rate. Only qualifying days (QDs) count for paying SSP. For more information on QDs, see when to start and stop statutory sick pay. Remember that you do not pay SSP for the first three QDs - the waiting days.

SSP calculator

You can work out the daily rate for your employee by dividing the weekly rate by the number of QDs in that week. For SSP purposes, the week always begins on a Sunday. In 2025-26, the weekly rate is £118.75 and applies from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

Calculate your employee's statutory sick pay.

It is worth noting that although the weekly rate is always the same, the fewer days your employee normally works, the higher the rate of SSP that is payable per QD, ie the daily rate for an employee working a three-day week will be higher than that of an employee working a five-day week.

Maximum SSP

The maximum entitlement is 28 weeks in each period - or series of linked periods - of incapacity to work.

You can calculate when you have paid 28 weeks' worth of SSP by keeping a running total of all SSP paid in a period or linked periods of sickness. You can use the SSP2 form to record periods of sickness and payment of SSP.

There is no longer a need for employers to keep records of statutory sick pay (SSP) that has been paid. However, there is a regulation still in force, and an employer may be required to produce records to show that statutory sick pay has been paid to their employees.

Keeping records of sickness absence

You can choose how you keep records of your employees' sickness absence. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may need to see these records if there is a dispute over payment of SSP.

The employer must ensure that retention and storage of such records are compliant with both data protection and GDPR. See staff records: your data protection obligations.

SSP record sheet

You can use the record sheet for SSP form (SSP2) to record details of an employee's sickness absences. You don't have to use this form, but it will help you keep accurate records, which will ensure that you pay the correct amount of SSP.

Self-certification form

The employee's statement of sickness form or self-certification form (SC2) is for employees to self-certify themselves as sick for the first seven days of sickness for SSP purposes. You can use your own self-certificate if you prefer.

If an employee is not entitled to SSP

You must give the employee not entitled to SSP form SSP1 to tell them why they cannot get SSP from you. Use and retain a copy of form SSP1 - or your own equivalent - when your employee has had the maximum amount of SSP and needs to claim Employment and Support Allowance. Fill in this form and send it to your employee if either:

• they have been sick for four days in a row and are not entitled to SSP from you
• their entitlement to SSP stops, but they are still sick

Using HMRC's downloadable calculators

A set of HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools is available to download straight to your computer. In addition to calculators for SSP and other statutory payments, the tools include:

• an employer database on which you can record your employees' details
• a P11 calculator that will work out and record your employees' tax, National Insurance contributions, and student loan deductions every pay day with a linked P32 Employment Payment record that works out what you need to pay HMRC
• interactive forms such as P11D working sheets
• a Learning Zone - including interactive learning material on SSP

You can opt out of the statutory sick pay (SSP) scheme if you have an occupational sick pay scheme that offers employees daily rates that are the same or better than SSP.

However, employees still have an underlying entitlement to SSP for the first 28 weeks in a period of incapacity for work (PIW).

Deciding on the terms of an occupational sick pay (OSP) scheme

A scheme run by an employer is usually known as an OSP scheme.

As an employer, you may wish to pay employees more than the statutory minimum. In this case, you will need to decide on the terms and conditions of the scheme.

It is up to you to decide whether or not you want your OSP scheme to be contractual. If you do make it contractual, you should include the details in each employee's contract and/or the company handbook.

However, even where there are no details of this in the employee's contract/company handbook, and you make enhanced payments over a period of time, the employee could regard this entitlement as contractual through custom and practice.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

What you need to do

With any OSP scheme, you should:

• decide if either all employees qualify or only those with a minimum period of service - ensure any indirect discrimination can be objectively justified
• decide on the maximum rate of OSP you will allow - many employers pay full basic pay for a certain period of time - you can 'top up' SSP to whatever amount you wish to pay
• decide how long your highest level of pay will last, before either stopping or reducing these payments, eg, from full pay to half pay
• ensure that OSP does not exceed normal pay - it must also not be less than SSP - any payment can be inclusive of SSP
• pay SSP during any periods that OSP is not payable during the first 28 weeks in a PIW
• issue a form SPP1 if a person has been sick for 28 weeks - even if OSP continues to be paid

Record-keeping under an OSP scheme

There is no longer a need to keep records of SSP paid, but records that could be required by HMRC are absences from work. You can choose how to keep these records. HMRC may need to see these if there is a dispute over payment.

You will also need to keep sufficient records to complete form SSP1, so that your employee may claim employment and support allowance if necessary. This might happen if they had received their maximum 28 weeks' SSP or run out of their entitlement to OSP and were not entitled to SSP from you.

Whether you pay only statutory sick pay (SSP) or operate an occupational sick pay scheme, you must detail your rules on sick pay in each employee's written statement of employment particulars or refer them to an accessible and separate document, eg ,company handbook, which gives these details.

You must give a written statement to all employees who work for you for one month or more. Read more on the written statement.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

Precedent in overpayment of SSP

If you (mistakenly) pay more than the SSP rate over a period of time, employees could regard the payments as contractual through 'custom and practice'.

If you then try to reduce payments to the SSP rate, the employee could claim:

• unlawful deduction of wages
• breach of contract
• constructive dismissal - although they would have to resign first

Contact HMRC for further advice on SSP - see Statutory Sick Pay and leave.

Long-term sickness and dismissal

An employee's inability to do their job because of long-term sick leave can be a potentially fair reason for dismissal.

However, in the event of an unfair dismissal complaint, an industrial tribunal will expect you to have acted reasonably by:

• consulting the employee and finding out as much as possible about their condition and the likely timescale for their recovery
• seeking medical advice from an Occupational Health Physician or GP
• considering all the alternatives to dismissal, such as changing the employee's role or hours of work
• following the statutory three-stage dismissal and disciplinary process

The tribunal will consider your business's size when deciding whether a dismissal was reasonable.

See how to manage absence and sickness and find out more about dismissing employees.

You should also consider whether or not the employee is disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 when considering dismissal on the grounds of long-term sickness. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sickness and holiday entitlement

If an employee is on sick leave, they can normally build up four weeks of statutory paid holiday time, like any other employee. Statutory holiday entitlement is built up while an employee is off work sick. This is the case no matter how long the employee is off.

Any statutory holiday entitlement that isn't used because of illness can be carried over into the next leave year. Holiday leave carried over in this way must be taken by the end of the period of 18 months from the end of the holiday leave year in which entitlement originally arose.

Taking holiday while off sick

An employee can use their paid holiday (annual leave) while off sick. For example, if they:

• are not physically able to work, but are physically able to take a holiday
• have a mental health condition that might be helped by a holiday
• are off sick long term, and a holiday might help with their recovery

It's up to an employee to request holiday while off sick. An employer cannot force an employee to take holiday while off sick.

If an employee is sick on holiday

An employee must report their sickness to their employer if they want to take holiday as sick leave. In this case, the employee can:

• get statutory sick pay for the time they were sick - as long as they are entitled to it
• keep the time they were sick to use as holiday another time

Statutory sick pay (SSP) provides a measure of earnings replacement for employees who are off work through illness. Employers must pay this to their employees who satisfy all the qualifying conditions.

You do not have to pay SSP to your employee if you pay wages or occupational (contractual) sick pay to your employee for the same days that they would be entitled to SSP if it is more than, or the same as, the current rate of SSP.

Qualifying conditions for SSP

You must pay SSP to your employee if they satisfy all of the following conditions.

They must:

• have notified you of their sickness within your own time limits or, if you haven't informed them in advance of any time limits, no later than seven days after the first day of sickness
• be employed by you and have done some work for you under their contract
• be sick for four or more days in a row, including weekends and bank holidays - this is known as the period of incapacity for work (PIW)
• have average weekly earnings equal to or more than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution (NIC) purposes - see earnings-related qualification for statutory sick pay
• be an employed earner, ie, have earnings on which you are liable to pay employer's Class 1 NICs, or would be liable to pay but for their age or level of earnings

Part-time, temporary, agency, or casual workers may also be entitled to SSP if they satisfy all of the qualifying conditions for payment.

In any one PIW, SSP is payable to the individual up to a maximum of 28 weeks.

Read an overview of statutory sick pay - GOV.UK guidance.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) advice on managing sickness absence.

To qualify for statutory sick pay (SSP), an employee must have average weekly earnings (AWE) at or above the lower earnings limit (LEL) - £125 a week in the 2025-26 tax year - regardless of whether they are required to pay National Insurance contributions.

You should calculate AWE by using a set period of time (the relevant period) prior to the start of the employee's 'period of incapacity for work'. The period must be at least eight weeks long and is marked by two pay dates:

• date one - the last normal pay date before the employee's first complete day of sickness
• date two - the last normal pay date falling not less than eight weeks before the pay date above

The relevant period is calculated from the day after date two up to and including date one.

Calculating average earnings for weekly paid employees

If your employee is paid once a week or in multiples of a week, eg, fortnightly or every four weeks:

• add together the gross earnings in the relevant period, including any bonuses and commissions
• divide the total by the number of weeks in the period

Calculating average earnings for monthly paid employees

The payment for monthly paid employees is calculated on the same basis as weekly paid employees:

• Add together the gross earnings during the period.
• Divide the total by the number of months in the period. If this is not a whole number of months, round to the nearest whole number.
• Multiply by 12.
• Divide by 52.

For details on how to calculate average earnings, see an overview of SSP.

Action if your employee is not entitled to SSP

If your employee is not entitled to SSP but has been incapable of work for at least four days in a row, you should advise them to claim employment and support allowance (ESA) from the Jobs & Benefits office. You should also give them form SSP1 as soon as possible to help support a claim for ESA.

Within limits, you can set up your own rules about how your employees inform you when they are sick.

You should only consider paying statutory sick pay (SSP) once an employee has been sick for at least four calendar days in a row. This period of sickness is known as a period of incapacity for work (PIW) and may include weekends and bank holidays.

Linking periods

If a PIW starts within eight weeks of the end of a previous PIW, the periods are linked and count as one period of sickness.

Waiting days

The first three qualifying days in a PIW are called waiting days (WDs). SSP is not payable for WDs. Where PIWs are linked, and all three WDs have been served in the first PIW, there will be no WDs in any later linked spells of sickness.

If all three WDs have not been served in the first PIW, any remaining WDs must be served at the beginning of the next linked PIW.

Qualifying days

These are the employee's contractual or normal working days unless other days have been agreed upon with the workforce. SSP is paid for each qualifying day after the waiting days.

Payment of SSP during a phased return to work

If the employee has previously been off sick and you have agreed to a phased return to work, you must consider payment of the employee's normal wages for days worked and SSP for days not worked in the normal working week.

Stopping payment of SSP

SSP usually stops once an employee returns to work for their regular number of days and/or hours. You should calculate if any SSP is still owing to them for previous days of sickness - pay any outstanding money on their next normal pay day.

Stop paying SSP if your employee:

• is still off sick after SSP has been paid for 28 weeks
• has had linked periods of sickness that have spanned a period of three years - even if you haven't paid a total of 28 weeks' worth of SSP

You also stop paying SSP to an employee if she starts receiving statutory maternity pay (SMP) - or maternity allowance (MA) if she doesn't qualify for SMP. The employee would start receiving SMP or MA if she either:

• Has chosen to start receiving SMP or MA on a particular date, which also happens to be when she would be due SSP.
• Is off sick for a pregnancy-related illness within four weeks of the start of her expected week of childbirth or the date she has chosen for her SMP to begin, whichever is earlier. In these circumstances, she stops working and starts to receive SMP or MA automatically.

If an employee is not entitled to SMP or MA, and is not already receiving SSP, she will be disqualified from receiving SSP for a period of 18 weeks.

Issuing the SSP1 form

If you stop paying an employee SSP and they are still off sick, you should advise them to make a claim for employment and support allowance (ESA) from their local Jobs & Benefits office. You must complete form SSP1 and send it to the employee immediately. Form SSP1 is used to support a claim for ESA.

If you know in advance that an employee will be off sick for more than 28 weeks, you should send the SSP1 form to them up to six weeks before the end of this 28-week period so that they can claim ESA without delay.

For more information on making and stopping SSP payments, see an overview of SSP.

If your employee satisfies the qualifying conditions for statutory sick pay (SSP), you should work out how much SSP is due. You should then pay it on the same day that you would normally pay them their wages for the same period.

For the qualifying conditions, see what is statutory sick pay and who gets it?

SSP is paid at a daily rate. Only qualifying days (QDs) count for paying SSP. For more information on QDs, see when to start and stop statutory sick pay. Remember that you do not pay SSP for the first three QDs - the waiting days.

SSP calculator

You can work out the daily rate for your employee by dividing the weekly rate by the number of QDs in that week. For SSP purposes, the week always begins on a Sunday. In 2025-26, the weekly rate is £118.75 and applies from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

Calculate your employee's statutory sick pay.

It is worth noting that although the weekly rate is always the same, the fewer days your employee normally works, the higher the rate of SSP that is payable per QD, ie the daily rate for an employee working a three-day week will be higher than that of an employee working a five-day week.

Maximum SSP

The maximum entitlement is 28 weeks in each period - or series of linked periods - of incapacity to work.

You can calculate when you have paid 28 weeks' worth of SSP by keeping a running total of all SSP paid in a period or linked periods of sickness. You can use the SSP2 form to record periods of sickness and payment of SSP.

There is no longer a need for employers to keep records of statutory sick pay (SSP) that has been paid. However, there is a regulation still in force, and an employer may be required to produce records to show that statutory sick pay has been paid to their employees.

Keeping records of sickness absence

You can choose how you keep records of your employees' sickness absence. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may need to see these records if there is a dispute over payment of SSP.

The employer must ensure that retention and storage of such records are compliant with both data protection and GDPR. See staff records: your data protection obligations.

SSP record sheet

You can use the record sheet for SSP form (SSP2) to record details of an employee's sickness absences. You don't have to use this form, but it will help you keep accurate records, which will ensure that you pay the correct amount of SSP.

Self-certification form

The employee's statement of sickness form or self-certification form (SC2) is for employees to self-certify themselves as sick for the first seven days of sickness for SSP purposes. You can use your own self-certificate if you prefer.

If an employee is not entitled to SSP

You must give the employee not entitled to SSP form SSP1 to tell them why they cannot get SSP from you. Use and retain a copy of form SSP1 - or your own equivalent - when your employee has had the maximum amount of SSP and needs to claim Employment and Support Allowance. Fill in this form and send it to your employee if either:

• they have been sick for four days in a row and are not entitled to SSP from you
• their entitlement to SSP stops, but they are still sick

Using HMRC's downloadable calculators

A set of HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools is available to download straight to your computer. In addition to calculators for SSP and other statutory payments, the tools include:

• an employer database on which you can record your employees' details
• a P11 calculator that will work out and record your employees' tax, National Insurance contributions, and student loan deductions every pay day with a linked P32 Employment Payment record that works out what you need to pay HMRC
• interactive forms such as P11D working sheets
• a Learning Zone - including interactive learning material on SSP

You can opt out of the statutory sick pay (SSP) scheme if you have an occupational sick pay scheme that offers employees daily rates that are the same or better than SSP.

However, employees still have an underlying entitlement to SSP for the first 28 weeks in a period of incapacity for work (PIW).

Deciding on the terms of an occupational sick pay (OSP) scheme

A scheme run by an employer is usually known as an OSP scheme.

As an employer, you may wish to pay employees more than the statutory minimum. In this case, you will need to decide on the terms and conditions of the scheme.

It is up to you to decide whether or not you want your OSP scheme to be contractual. If you do make it contractual, you should include the details in each employee's contract and/or the company handbook.

However, even where there are no details of this in the employee's contract/company handbook, and you make enhanced payments over a period of time, the employee could regard this entitlement as contractual through custom and practice.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

What you need to do

With any OSP scheme, you should:

• decide if either all employees qualify or only those with a minimum period of service - ensure any indirect discrimination can be objectively justified
• decide on the maximum rate of OSP you will allow - many employers pay full basic pay for a certain period of time - you can 'top up' SSP to whatever amount you wish to pay
• decide how long your highest level of pay will last, before either stopping or reducing these payments, eg, from full pay to half pay
• ensure that OSP does not exceed normal pay - it must also not be less than SSP - any payment can be inclusive of SSP
• pay SSP during any periods that OSP is not payable during the first 28 weeks in a PIW
• issue a form SPP1 if a person has been sick for 28 weeks - even if OSP continues to be paid

Record-keeping under an OSP scheme

There is no longer a need to keep records of SSP paid, but records that could be required by HMRC are absences from work. You can choose how to keep these records. HMRC may need to see these if there is a dispute over payment.

You will also need to keep sufficient records to complete form SSP1, so that your employee may claim employment and support allowance if necessary. This might happen if they had received their maximum 28 weeks' SSP or run out of their entitlement to OSP and were not entitled to SSP from you.

Whether you pay only statutory sick pay (SSP) or operate an occupational sick pay scheme, you must detail your rules on sick pay in each employee's written statement of employment particulars or refer them to an accessible and separate document, eg ,company handbook, which gives these details.

You must give a written statement to all employees who work for you for one month or more. Read more on the written statement.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

Precedent in overpayment of SSP

If you (mistakenly) pay more than the SSP rate over a period of time, employees could regard the payments as contractual through 'custom and practice'.

If you then try to reduce payments to the SSP rate, the employee could claim:

• unlawful deduction of wages
• breach of contract
• constructive dismissal - although they would have to resign first

Contact HMRC for further advice on SSP - see Statutory Sick Pay and leave.

Long-term sickness and dismissal

An employee's inability to do their job because of long-term sick leave can be a potentially fair reason for dismissal.

However, in the event of an unfair dismissal complaint, an industrial tribunal will expect you to have acted reasonably by:

• consulting the employee and finding out as much as possible about their condition and the likely timescale for their recovery
• seeking medical advice from an Occupational Health Physician or GP
• considering all the alternatives to dismissal, such as changing the employee's role or hours of work
• following the statutory three-stage dismissal and disciplinary process

The tribunal will consider your business's size when deciding whether a dismissal was reasonable.

See how to manage absence and sickness and find out more about dismissing employees.

You should also consider whether or not the employee is disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 when considering dismissal on the grounds of long-term sickness. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sickness and holiday entitlement

If an employee is on sick leave, they can normally build up four weeks of statutory paid holiday time, like any other employee. Statutory holiday entitlement is built up while an employee is off work sick. This is the case no matter how long the employee is off.

Any statutory holiday entitlement that isn't used because of illness can be carried over into the next leave year. Holiday leave carried over in this way must be taken by the end of the period of 18 months from the end of the holiday leave year in which entitlement originally arose.

Taking holiday while off sick

An employee can use their paid holiday (annual leave) while off sick. For example, if they:

• are not physically able to work, but are physically able to take a holiday
• have a mental health condition that might be helped by a holiday
• are off sick long term, and a holiday might help with their recovery

It's up to an employee to request holiday while off sick. An employer cannot force an employee to take holiday while off sick.

If an employee is sick on holiday

An employee must report their sickness to their employer if they want to take holiday as sick leave. In this case, the employee can:

• get statutory sick pay for the time they were sick - as long as they are entitled to it
• keep the time they were sick to use as holiday another time

Statutory sick pay (SSP) provides a measure of earnings replacement for employees who are off work through illness. Employers must pay this to their employees who satisfy all the qualifying conditions.

You do not have to pay SSP to your employee if you pay wages or occupational (contractual) sick pay to your employee for the same days that they would be entitled to SSP if it is more than, or the same as, the current rate of SSP.

Qualifying conditions for SSP

You must pay SSP to your employee if they satisfy all of the following conditions.

They must:

• have notified you of their sickness within your own time limits or, if you haven't informed them in advance of any time limits, no later than seven days after the first day of sickness
• be employed by you and have done some work for you under their contract
• be sick for four or more days in a row, including weekends and bank holidays - this is known as the period of incapacity for work (PIW)
• have average weekly earnings equal to or more than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution (NIC) purposes - see earnings-related qualification for statutory sick pay
• be an employed earner, ie, have earnings on which you are liable to pay employer's Class 1 NICs, or would be liable to pay but for their age or level of earnings

Part-time, temporary, agency, or casual workers may also be entitled to SSP if they satisfy all of the qualifying conditions for payment.

In any one PIW, SSP is payable to the individual up to a maximum of 28 weeks.

Read an overview of statutory sick pay - GOV.UK guidance.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) advice on managing sickness absence.

To qualify for statutory sick pay (SSP), an employee must have average weekly earnings (AWE) at or above the lower earnings limit (LEL) - £125 a week in the 2025-26 tax year - regardless of whether they are required to pay National Insurance contributions.

You should calculate AWE by using a set period of time (the relevant period) prior to the start of the employee's 'period of incapacity for work'. The period must be at least eight weeks long and is marked by two pay dates:

• date one - the last normal pay date before the employee's first complete day of sickness
• date two - the last normal pay date falling not less than eight weeks before the pay date above

The relevant period is calculated from the day after date two up to and including date one.

Calculating average earnings for weekly paid employees

If your employee is paid once a week or in multiples of a week, eg, fortnightly or every four weeks:

• add together the gross earnings in the relevant period, including any bonuses and commissions
• divide the total by the number of weeks in the period

Calculating average earnings for monthly paid employees

The payment for monthly paid employees is calculated on the same basis as weekly paid employees:

• Add together the gross earnings during the period.
• Divide the total by the number of months in the period. If this is not a whole number of months, round to the nearest whole number.
• Multiply by 12.
• Divide by 52.

For details on how to calculate average earnings, see an overview of SSP.

Action if your employee is not entitled to SSP

If your employee is not entitled to SSP but has been incapable of work for at least four days in a row, you should advise them to claim employment and support allowance (ESA) from the Jobs & Benefits office. You should also give them form SSP1 as soon as possible to help support a claim for ESA.

Within limits, you can set up your own rules about how your employees inform you when they are sick.

You should only consider paying statutory sick pay (SSP) once an employee has been sick for at least four calendar days in a row. This period of sickness is known as a period of incapacity for work (PIW) and may include weekends and bank holidays.

Linking periods

If a PIW starts within eight weeks of the end of a previous PIW, the periods are linked and count as one period of sickness.

Waiting days

The first three qualifying days in a PIW are called waiting days (WDs). SSP is not payable for WDs. Where PIWs are linked, and all three WDs have been served in the first PIW, there will be no WDs in any later linked spells of sickness.

If all three WDs have not been served in the first PIW, any remaining WDs must be served at the beginning of the next linked PIW.

Qualifying days

These are the employee's contractual or normal working days unless other days have been agreed upon with the workforce. SSP is paid for each qualifying day after the waiting days.

Payment of SSP during a phased return to work

If the employee has previously been off sick and you have agreed to a phased return to work, you must consider payment of the employee's normal wages for days worked and SSP for days not worked in the normal working week.

Stopping payment of SSP

SSP usually stops once an employee returns to work for their regular number of days and/or hours. You should calculate if any SSP is still owing to them for previous days of sickness - pay any outstanding money on their next normal pay day.

Stop paying SSP if your employee:

• is still off sick after SSP has been paid for 28 weeks
• has had linked periods of sickness that have spanned a period of three years - even if you haven't paid a total of 28 weeks' worth of SSP

You also stop paying SSP to an employee if she starts receiving statutory maternity pay (SMP) - or maternity allowance (MA) if she doesn't qualify for SMP. The employee would start receiving SMP or MA if she either:

• Has chosen to start receiving SMP or MA on a particular date, which also happens to be when she would be due SSP.
• Is off sick for a pregnancy-related illness within four weeks of the start of her expected week of childbirth or the date she has chosen for her SMP to begin, whichever is earlier. In these circumstances, she stops working and starts to receive SMP or MA automatically.

If an employee is not entitled to SMP or MA, and is not already receiving SSP, she will be disqualified from receiving SSP for a period of 18 weeks.

Issuing the SSP1 form

If you stop paying an employee SSP and they are still off sick, you should advise them to make a claim for employment and support allowance (ESA) from their local Jobs & Benefits office. You must complete form SSP1 and send it to the employee immediately. Form SSP1 is used to support a claim for ESA.

If you know in advance that an employee will be off sick for more than 28 weeks, you should send the SSP1 form to them up to six weeks before the end of this 28-week period so that they can claim ESA without delay.

For more information on making and stopping SSP payments, see an overview of SSP.

If your employee satisfies the qualifying conditions for statutory sick pay (SSP), you should work out how much SSP is due. You should then pay it on the same day that you would normally pay them their wages for the same period.

For the qualifying conditions, see what is statutory sick pay and who gets it?

SSP is paid at a daily rate. Only qualifying days (QDs) count for paying SSP. For more information on QDs, see when to start and stop statutory sick pay. Remember that you do not pay SSP for the first three QDs - the waiting days.

SSP calculator

You can work out the daily rate for your employee by dividing the weekly rate by the number of QDs in that week. For SSP purposes, the week always begins on a Sunday. In 2025-26, the weekly rate is £118.75 and applies from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

Calculate your employee's statutory sick pay.

It is worth noting that although the weekly rate is always the same, the fewer days your employee normally works, the higher the rate of SSP that is payable per QD, ie the daily rate for an employee working a three-day week will be higher than that of an employee working a five-day week.

Maximum SSP

The maximum entitlement is 28 weeks in each period - or series of linked periods - of incapacity to work.

You can calculate when you have paid 28 weeks' worth of SSP by keeping a running total of all SSP paid in a period or linked periods of sickness. You can use the SSP2 form to record periods of sickness and payment of SSP.

There is no longer a need for employers to keep records of statutory sick pay (SSP) that has been paid. However, there is a regulation still in force, and an employer may be required to produce records to show that statutory sick pay has been paid to their employees.

Keeping records of sickness absence

You can choose how you keep records of your employees' sickness absence. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may need to see these records if there is a dispute over payment of SSP.

The employer must ensure that retention and storage of such records are compliant with both data protection and GDPR. See staff records: your data protection obligations.

SSP record sheet

You can use the record sheet for SSP form (SSP2) to record details of an employee's sickness absences. You don't have to use this form, but it will help you keep accurate records, which will ensure that you pay the correct amount of SSP.

Self-certification form

The employee's statement of sickness form or self-certification form (SC2) is for employees to self-certify themselves as sick for the first seven days of sickness for SSP purposes. You can use your own self-certificate if you prefer.

If an employee is not entitled to SSP

You must give the employee not entitled to SSP form SSP1 to tell them why they cannot get SSP from you. Use and retain a copy of form SSP1 - or your own equivalent - when your employee has had the maximum amount of SSP and needs to claim Employment and Support Allowance. Fill in this form and send it to your employee if either:

• they have been sick for four days in a row and are not entitled to SSP from you
• their entitlement to SSP stops, but they are still sick

Using HMRC's downloadable calculators

A set of HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools is available to download straight to your computer. In addition to calculators for SSP and other statutory payments, the tools include:

• an employer database on which you can record your employees' details
• a P11 calculator that will work out and record your employees' tax, National Insurance contributions, and student loan deductions every pay day with a linked P32 Employment Payment record that works out what you need to pay HMRC
• interactive forms such as P11D working sheets
• a Learning Zone - including interactive learning material on SSP

You can opt out of the statutory sick pay (SSP) scheme if you have an occupational sick pay scheme that offers employees daily rates that are the same or better than SSP.

However, employees still have an underlying entitlement to SSP for the first 28 weeks in a period of incapacity for work (PIW).

Deciding on the terms of an occupational sick pay (OSP) scheme

A scheme run by an employer is usually known as an OSP scheme.

As an employer, you may wish to pay employees more than the statutory minimum. In this case, you will need to decide on the terms and conditions of the scheme.

It is up to you to decide whether or not you want your OSP scheme to be contractual. If you do make it contractual, you should include the details in each employee's contract and/or the company handbook.

However, even where there are no details of this in the employee's contract/company handbook, and you make enhanced payments over a period of time, the employee could regard this entitlement as contractual through custom and practice.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

What you need to do

With any OSP scheme, you should:

• decide if either all employees qualify or only those with a minimum period of service - ensure any indirect discrimination can be objectively justified
• decide on the maximum rate of OSP you will allow - many employers pay full basic pay for a certain period of time - you can 'top up' SSP to whatever amount you wish to pay
• decide how long your highest level of pay will last, before either stopping or reducing these payments, eg, from full pay to half pay
• ensure that OSP does not exceed normal pay - it must also not be less than SSP - any payment can be inclusive of SSP
• pay SSP during any periods that OSP is not payable during the first 28 weeks in a PIW
• issue a form SPP1 if a person has been sick for 28 weeks - even if OSP continues to be paid

Record-keeping under an OSP scheme

There is no longer a need to keep records of SSP paid, but records that could be required by HMRC are absences from work. You can choose how to keep these records. HMRC may need to see these if there is a dispute over payment.

You will also need to keep sufficient records to complete form SSP1, so that your employee may claim employment and support allowance if necessary. This might happen if they had received their maximum 28 weeks' SSP or run out of their entitlement to OSP and were not entitled to SSP from you.

Whether you pay only statutory sick pay (SSP) or operate an occupational sick pay scheme, you must detail your rules on sick pay in each employee's written statement of employment particulars or refer them to an accessible and separate document, eg ,company handbook, which gives these details.

You must give a written statement to all employees who work for you for one month or more. Read more on the written statement.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

Precedent in overpayment of SSP

If you (mistakenly) pay more than the SSP rate over a period of time, employees could regard the payments as contractual through 'custom and practice'.

If you then try to reduce payments to the SSP rate, the employee could claim:

• unlawful deduction of wages
• breach of contract
• constructive dismissal - although they would have to resign first

Contact HMRC for further advice on SSP - see Statutory Sick Pay and leave.

Long-term sickness and dismissal

An employee's inability to do their job because of long-term sick leave can be a potentially fair reason for dismissal.

However, in the event of an unfair dismissal complaint, an industrial tribunal will expect you to have acted reasonably by:

• consulting the employee and finding out as much as possible about their condition and the likely timescale for their recovery
• seeking medical advice from an Occupational Health Physician or GP
• considering all the alternatives to dismissal, such as changing the employee's role or hours of work
• following the statutory three-stage dismissal and disciplinary process

The tribunal will consider your business's size when deciding whether a dismissal was reasonable.

See how to manage absence and sickness and find out more about dismissing employees.

You should also consider whether or not the employee is disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 when considering dismissal on the grounds of long-term sickness. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sickness and holiday entitlement

If an employee is on sick leave, they can normally build up four weeks of statutory paid holiday time, like any other employee. Statutory holiday entitlement is built up while an employee is off work sick. This is the case no matter how long the employee is off.

Any statutory holiday entitlement that isn't used because of illness can be carried over into the next leave year. Holiday leave carried over in this way must be taken by the end of the period of 18 months from the end of the holiday leave year in which entitlement originally arose.

Taking holiday while off sick

An employee can use their paid holiday (annual leave) while off sick. For example, if they:

• are not physically able to work, but are physically able to take a holiday
• have a mental health condition that might be helped by a holiday
• are off sick long term, and a holiday might help with their recovery

It's up to an employee to request holiday while off sick. An employer cannot force an employee to take holiday while off sick.

If an employee is sick on holiday

An employee must report their sickness to their employer if they want to take holiday as sick leave. In this case, the employee can:

• get statutory sick pay for the time they were sick - as long as they are entitled to it
• keep the time they were sick to use as holiday another time

Statutory sick pay (SSP) provides a measure of earnings replacement for employees who are off work through illness. Employers must pay this to their employees who satisfy all the qualifying conditions.

You do not have to pay SSP to your employee if you pay wages or occupational (contractual) sick pay to your employee for the same days that they would be entitled to SSP if it is more than, or the same as, the current rate of SSP.

Qualifying conditions for SSP

You must pay SSP to your employee if they satisfy all of the following conditions.

They must:

• have notified you of their sickness within your own time limits or, if you haven't informed them in advance of any time limits, no later than seven days after the first day of sickness
• be employed by you and have done some work for you under their contract
• be sick for four or more days in a row, including weekends and bank holidays - this is known as the period of incapacity for work (PIW)
• have average weekly earnings equal to or more than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution (NIC) purposes - see earnings-related qualification for statutory sick pay
• be an employed earner, ie, have earnings on which you are liable to pay employer's Class 1 NICs, or would be liable to pay but for their age or level of earnings

Part-time, temporary, agency, or casual workers may also be entitled to SSP if they satisfy all of the qualifying conditions for payment.

In any one PIW, SSP is payable to the individual up to a maximum of 28 weeks.

Read an overview of statutory sick pay - GOV.UK guidance.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) advice on managing sickness absence.

To qualify for statutory sick pay (SSP), an employee must have average weekly earnings (AWE) at or above the lower earnings limit (LEL) - £125 a week in the 2025-26 tax year - regardless of whether they are required to pay National Insurance contributions.

You should calculate AWE by using a set period of time (the relevant period) prior to the start of the employee's 'period of incapacity for work'. The period must be at least eight weeks long and is marked by two pay dates:

• date one - the last normal pay date before the employee's first complete day of sickness
• date two - the last normal pay date falling not less than eight weeks before the pay date above

The relevant period is calculated from the day after date two up to and including date one.

Calculating average earnings for weekly paid employees

If your employee is paid once a week or in multiples of a week, eg, fortnightly or every four weeks:

• add together the gross earnings in the relevant period, including any bonuses and commissions
• divide the total by the number of weeks in the period

Calculating average earnings for monthly paid employees

The payment for monthly paid employees is calculated on the same basis as weekly paid employees:

• Add together the gross earnings during the period.
• Divide the total by the number of months in the period. If this is not a whole number of months, round to the nearest whole number.
• Multiply by 12.
• Divide by 52.

For details on how to calculate average earnings, see an overview of SSP.

Action if your employee is not entitled to SSP

If your employee is not entitled to SSP but has been incapable of work for at least four days in a row, you should advise them to claim employment and support allowance (ESA) from the Jobs & Benefits office. You should also give them form SSP1 as soon as possible to help support a claim for ESA.

Within limits, you can set up your own rules about how your employees inform you when they are sick.

You should only consider paying statutory sick pay (SSP) once an employee has been sick for at least four calendar days in a row. This period of sickness is known as a period of incapacity for work (PIW) and may include weekends and bank holidays.

Linking periods

If a PIW starts within eight weeks of the end of a previous PIW, the periods are linked and count as one period of sickness.

Waiting days

The first three qualifying days in a PIW are called waiting days (WDs). SSP is not payable for WDs. Where PIWs are linked, and all three WDs have been served in the first PIW, there will be no WDs in any later linked spells of sickness.

If all three WDs have not been served in the first PIW, any remaining WDs must be served at the beginning of the next linked PIW.

Qualifying days

These are the employee's contractual or normal working days unless other days have been agreed upon with the workforce. SSP is paid for each qualifying day after the waiting days.

Payment of SSP during a phased return to work

If the employee has previously been off sick and you have agreed to a phased return to work, you must consider payment of the employee's normal wages for days worked and SSP for days not worked in the normal working week.

Stopping payment of SSP

SSP usually stops once an employee returns to work for their regular number of days and/or hours. You should calculate if any SSP is still owing to them for previous days of sickness - pay any outstanding money on their next normal pay day.

Stop paying SSP if your employee:

• is still off sick after SSP has been paid for 28 weeks
• has had linked periods of sickness that have spanned a period of three years - even if you haven't paid a total of 28 weeks' worth of SSP

You also stop paying SSP to an employee if she starts receiving statutory maternity pay (SMP) - or maternity allowance (MA) if she doesn't qualify for SMP. The employee would start receiving SMP or MA if she either:

• Has chosen to start receiving SMP or MA on a particular date, which also happens to be when she would be due SSP.
• Is off sick for a pregnancy-related illness within four weeks of the start of her expected week of childbirth or the date she has chosen for her SMP to begin, whichever is earlier. In these circumstances, she stops working and starts to receive SMP or MA automatically.

If an employee is not entitled to SMP or MA, and is not already receiving SSP, she will be disqualified from receiving SSP for a period of 18 weeks.

Issuing the SSP1 form

If you stop paying an employee SSP and they are still off sick, you should advise them to make a claim for employment and support allowance (ESA) from their local Jobs & Benefits office. You must complete form SSP1 and send it to the employee immediately. Form SSP1 is used to support a claim for ESA.

If you know in advance that an employee will be off sick for more than 28 weeks, you should send the SSP1 form to them up to six weeks before the end of this 28-week period so that they can claim ESA without delay.

For more information on making and stopping SSP payments, see an overview of SSP.

If your employee satisfies the qualifying conditions for statutory sick pay (SSP), you should work out how much SSP is due. You should then pay it on the same day that you would normally pay them their wages for the same period.

For the qualifying conditions, see what is statutory sick pay and who gets it?

SSP is paid at a daily rate. Only qualifying days (QDs) count for paying SSP. For more information on QDs, see when to start and stop statutory sick pay. Remember that you do not pay SSP for the first three QDs - the waiting days.

SSP calculator

You can work out the daily rate for your employee by dividing the weekly rate by the number of QDs in that week. For SSP purposes, the week always begins on a Sunday. In 2025-26, the weekly rate is £118.75 and applies from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

Calculate your employee's statutory sick pay.

It is worth noting that although the weekly rate is always the same, the fewer days your employee normally works, the higher the rate of SSP that is payable per QD, ie the daily rate for an employee working a three-day week will be higher than that of an employee working a five-day week.

Maximum SSP

The maximum entitlement is 28 weeks in each period - or series of linked periods - of incapacity to work.

You can calculate when you have paid 28 weeks' worth of SSP by keeping a running total of all SSP paid in a period or linked periods of sickness. You can use the SSP2 form to record periods of sickness and payment of SSP.

There is no longer a need for employers to keep records of statutory sick pay (SSP) that has been paid. However, there is a regulation still in force, and an employer may be required to produce records to show that statutory sick pay has been paid to their employees.

Keeping records of sickness absence

You can choose how you keep records of your employees' sickness absence. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may need to see these records if there is a dispute over payment of SSP.

The employer must ensure that retention and storage of such records are compliant with both data protection and GDPR. See staff records: your data protection obligations.

SSP record sheet

You can use the record sheet for SSP form (SSP2) to record details of an employee's sickness absences. You don't have to use this form, but it will help you keep accurate records, which will ensure that you pay the correct amount of SSP.

Self-certification form

The employee's statement of sickness form or self-certification form (SC2) is for employees to self-certify themselves as sick for the first seven days of sickness for SSP purposes. You can use your own self-certificate if you prefer.

If an employee is not entitled to SSP

You must give the employee not entitled to SSP form SSP1 to tell them why they cannot get SSP from you. Use and retain a copy of form SSP1 - or your own equivalent - when your employee has had the maximum amount of SSP and needs to claim Employment and Support Allowance. Fill in this form and send it to your employee if either:

• they have been sick for four days in a row and are not entitled to SSP from you
• their entitlement to SSP stops, but they are still sick

Using HMRC's downloadable calculators

A set of HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools is available to download straight to your computer. In addition to calculators for SSP and other statutory payments, the tools include:

• an employer database on which you can record your employees' details
• a P11 calculator that will work out and record your employees' tax, National Insurance contributions, and student loan deductions every pay day with a linked P32 Employment Payment record that works out what you need to pay HMRC
• interactive forms such as P11D working sheets
• a Learning Zone - including interactive learning material on SSP

You can opt out of the statutory sick pay (SSP) scheme if you have an occupational sick pay scheme that offers employees daily rates that are the same or better than SSP.

However, employees still have an underlying entitlement to SSP for the first 28 weeks in a period of incapacity for work (PIW).

Deciding on the terms of an occupational sick pay (OSP) scheme

A scheme run by an employer is usually known as an OSP scheme.

As an employer, you may wish to pay employees more than the statutory minimum. In this case, you will need to decide on the terms and conditions of the scheme.

It is up to you to decide whether or not you want your OSP scheme to be contractual. If you do make it contractual, you should include the details in each employee's contract and/or the company handbook.

However, even where there are no details of this in the employee's contract/company handbook, and you make enhanced payments over a period of time, the employee could regard this entitlement as contractual through custom and practice.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

What you need to do

With any OSP scheme, you should:

• decide if either all employees qualify or only those with a minimum period of service - ensure any indirect discrimination can be objectively justified
• decide on the maximum rate of OSP you will allow - many employers pay full basic pay for a certain period of time - you can 'top up' SSP to whatever amount you wish to pay
• decide how long your highest level of pay will last, before either stopping or reducing these payments, eg, from full pay to half pay
• ensure that OSP does not exceed normal pay - it must also not be less than SSP - any payment can be inclusive of SSP
• pay SSP during any periods that OSP is not payable during the first 28 weeks in a PIW
• issue a form SPP1 if a person has been sick for 28 weeks - even if OSP continues to be paid

Record-keeping under an OSP scheme

There is no longer a need to keep records of SSP paid, but records that could be required by HMRC are absences from work. You can choose how to keep these records. HMRC may need to see these if there is a dispute over payment.

You will also need to keep sufficient records to complete form SSP1, so that your employee may claim employment and support allowance if necessary. This might happen if they had received their maximum 28 weeks' SSP or run out of their entitlement to OSP and were not entitled to SSP from you.

Whether you pay only statutory sick pay (SSP) or operate an occupational sick pay scheme, you must detail your rules on sick pay in each employee's written statement of employment particulars or refer them to an accessible and separate document, eg ,company handbook, which gives these details.

You must give a written statement to all employees who work for you for one month or more. Read more on the written statement.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

Precedent in overpayment of SSP

If you (mistakenly) pay more than the SSP rate over a period of time, employees could regard the payments as contractual through 'custom and practice'.

If you then try to reduce payments to the SSP rate, the employee could claim:

• unlawful deduction of wages
• breach of contract
• constructive dismissal - although they would have to resign first

Contact HMRC for further advice on SSP - see Statutory Sick Pay and leave.

Long-term sickness and dismissal

An employee's inability to do their job because of long-term sick leave can be a potentially fair reason for dismissal.

However, in the event of an unfair dismissal complaint, an industrial tribunal will expect you to have acted reasonably by:

• consulting the employee and finding out as much as possible about their condition and the likely timescale for their recovery
• seeking medical advice from an Occupational Health Physician or GP
• considering all the alternatives to dismissal, such as changing the employee's role or hours of work
• following the statutory three-stage dismissal and disciplinary process

The tribunal will consider your business's size when deciding whether a dismissal was reasonable.

See how to manage absence and sickness and find out more about dismissing employees.

You should also consider whether or not the employee is disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 when considering dismissal on the grounds of long-term sickness. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sickness and holiday entitlement

If an employee is on sick leave, they can normally build up four weeks of statutory paid holiday time, like any other employee. Statutory holiday entitlement is built up while an employee is off work sick. This is the case no matter how long the employee is off.

Any statutory holiday entitlement that isn't used because of illness can be carried over into the next leave year. Holiday leave carried over in this way must be taken by the end of the period of 18 months from the end of the holiday leave year in which entitlement originally arose.

Taking holiday while off sick

An employee can use their paid holiday (annual leave) while off sick. For example, if they:

• are not physically able to work, but are physically able to take a holiday
• have a mental health condition that might be helped by a holiday
• are off sick long term, and a holiday might help with their recovery

It's up to an employee to request holiday while off sick. An employer cannot force an employee to take holiday while off sick.

If an employee is sick on holiday

An employee must report their sickness to their employer if they want to take holiday as sick leave. In this case, the employee can:

• get statutory sick pay for the time they were sick - as long as they are entitled to it
• keep the time they were sick to use as holiday another time

Statutory sick pay (SSP) provides a measure of earnings replacement for employees who are off work through illness. Employers must pay this to their employees who satisfy all the qualifying conditions.

You do not have to pay SSP to your employee if you pay wages or occupational (contractual) sick pay to your employee for the same days that they would be entitled to SSP if it is more than, or the same as, the current rate of SSP.

Qualifying conditions for SSP

You must pay SSP to your employee if they satisfy all of the following conditions.

They must:

• have notified you of their sickness within your own time limits or, if you haven't informed them in advance of any time limits, no later than seven days after the first day of sickness
• be employed by you and have done some work for you under their contract
• be sick for four or more days in a row, including weekends and bank holidays - this is known as the period of incapacity for work (PIW)
• have average weekly earnings equal to or more than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution (NIC) purposes - see earnings-related qualification for statutory sick pay
• be an employed earner, ie, have earnings on which you are liable to pay employer's Class 1 NICs, or would be liable to pay but for their age or level of earnings

Part-time, temporary, agency, or casual workers may also be entitled to SSP if they satisfy all of the qualifying conditions for payment.

In any one PIW, SSP is payable to the individual up to a maximum of 28 weeks.

Read an overview of statutory sick pay - GOV.UK guidance.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) advice on managing sickness absence.

To qualify for statutory sick pay (SSP), an employee must have average weekly earnings (AWE) at or above the lower earnings limit (LEL) - £125 a week in the 2025-26 tax year - regardless of whether they are required to pay National Insurance contributions.

You should calculate AWE by using a set period of time (the relevant period) prior to the start of the employee's 'period of incapacity for work'. The period must be at least eight weeks long and is marked by two pay dates:

• date one - the last normal pay date before the employee's first complete day of sickness
• date two - the last normal pay date falling not less than eight weeks before the pay date above

The relevant period is calculated from the day after date two up to and including date one.

Calculating average earnings for weekly paid employees

If your employee is paid once a week or in multiples of a week, eg, fortnightly or every four weeks:

• add together the gross earnings in the relevant period, including any bonuses and commissions
• divide the total by the number of weeks in the period

Calculating average earnings for monthly paid employees

The payment for monthly paid employees is calculated on the same basis as weekly paid employees:

• Add together the gross earnings during the period.
• Divide the total by the number of months in the period. If this is not a whole number of months, round to the nearest whole number.
• Multiply by 12.
• Divide by 52.

For details on how to calculate average earnings, see an overview of SSP.

Action if your employee is not entitled to SSP

If your employee is not entitled to SSP but has been incapable of work for at least four days in a row, you should advise them to claim employment and support allowance (ESA) from the Jobs & Benefits office. You should also give them form SSP1 as soon as possible to help support a claim for ESA.

Within limits, you can set up your own rules about how your employees inform you when they are sick.

You should only consider paying statutory sick pay (SSP) once an employee has been sick for at least four calendar days in a row. This period of sickness is known as a period of incapacity for work (PIW) and may include weekends and bank holidays.

Linking periods

If a PIW starts within eight weeks of the end of a previous PIW, the periods are linked and count as one period of sickness.

Waiting days

The first three qualifying days in a PIW are called waiting days (WDs). SSP is not payable for WDs. Where PIWs are linked, and all three WDs have been served in the first PIW, there will be no WDs in any later linked spells of sickness.

If all three WDs have not been served in the first PIW, any remaining WDs must be served at the beginning of the next linked PIW.

Qualifying days

These are the employee's contractual or normal working days unless other days have been agreed upon with the workforce. SSP is paid for each qualifying day after the waiting days.

Payment of SSP during a phased return to work

If the employee has previously been off sick and you have agreed to a phased return to work, you must consider payment of the employee's normal wages for days worked and SSP for days not worked in the normal working week.

Stopping payment of SSP

SSP usually stops once an employee returns to work for their regular number of days and/or hours. You should calculate if any SSP is still owing to them for previous days of sickness - pay any outstanding money on their next normal pay day.

Stop paying SSP if your employee:

• is still off sick after SSP has been paid for 28 weeks
• has had linked periods of sickness that have spanned a period of three years - even if you haven't paid a total of 28 weeks' worth of SSP

You also stop paying SSP to an employee if she starts receiving statutory maternity pay (SMP) - or maternity allowance (MA) if she doesn't qualify for SMP. The employee would start receiving SMP or MA if she either:

• Has chosen to start receiving SMP or MA on a particular date, which also happens to be when she would be due SSP.
• Is off sick for a pregnancy-related illness within four weeks of the start of her expected week of childbirth or the date she has chosen for her SMP to begin, whichever is earlier. In these circumstances, she stops working and starts to receive SMP or MA automatically.

If an employee is not entitled to SMP or MA, and is not already receiving SSP, she will be disqualified from receiving SSP for a period of 18 weeks.

Issuing the SSP1 form

If you stop paying an employee SSP and they are still off sick, you should advise them to make a claim for employment and support allowance (ESA) from their local Jobs & Benefits office. You must complete form SSP1 and send it to the employee immediately. Form SSP1 is used to support a claim for ESA.

If you know in advance that an employee will be off sick for more than 28 weeks, you should send the SSP1 form to them up to six weeks before the end of this 28-week period so that they can claim ESA without delay.

For more information on making and stopping SSP payments, see an overview of SSP.

If your employee satisfies the qualifying conditions for statutory sick pay (SSP), you should work out how much SSP is due. You should then pay it on the same day that you would normally pay them their wages for the same period.

For the qualifying conditions, see what is statutory sick pay and who gets it?

SSP is paid at a daily rate. Only qualifying days (QDs) count for paying SSP. For more information on QDs, see when to start and stop statutory sick pay. Remember that you do not pay SSP for the first three QDs - the waiting days.

SSP calculator

You can work out the daily rate for your employee by dividing the weekly rate by the number of QDs in that week. For SSP purposes, the week always begins on a Sunday. In 2025-26, the weekly rate is £118.75 and applies from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

Calculate your employee's statutory sick pay.

It is worth noting that although the weekly rate is always the same, the fewer days your employee normally works, the higher the rate of SSP that is payable per QD, ie the daily rate for an employee working a three-day week will be higher than that of an employee working a five-day week.

Maximum SSP

The maximum entitlement is 28 weeks in each period - or series of linked periods - of incapacity to work.

You can calculate when you have paid 28 weeks' worth of SSP by keeping a running total of all SSP paid in a period or linked periods of sickness. You can use the SSP2 form to record periods of sickness and payment of SSP.

There is no longer a need for employers to keep records of statutory sick pay (SSP) that has been paid. However, there is a regulation still in force, and an employer may be required to produce records to show that statutory sick pay has been paid to their employees.

Keeping records of sickness absence

You can choose how you keep records of your employees' sickness absence. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may need to see these records if there is a dispute over payment of SSP.

The employer must ensure that retention and storage of such records are compliant with both data protection and GDPR. See staff records: your data protection obligations.

SSP record sheet

You can use the record sheet for SSP form (SSP2) to record details of an employee's sickness absences. You don't have to use this form, but it will help you keep accurate records, which will ensure that you pay the correct amount of SSP.

Self-certification form

The employee's statement of sickness form or self-certification form (SC2) is for employees to self-certify themselves as sick for the first seven days of sickness for SSP purposes. You can use your own self-certificate if you prefer.

If an employee is not entitled to SSP

You must give the employee not entitled to SSP form SSP1 to tell them why they cannot get SSP from you. Use and retain a copy of form SSP1 - or your own equivalent - when your employee has had the maximum amount of SSP and needs to claim Employment and Support Allowance. Fill in this form and send it to your employee if either:

• they have been sick for four days in a row and are not entitled to SSP from you
• their entitlement to SSP stops, but they are still sick

Using HMRC's downloadable calculators

A set of HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools is available to download straight to your computer. In addition to calculators for SSP and other statutory payments, the tools include:

• an employer database on which you can record your employees' details
• a P11 calculator that will work out and record your employees' tax, National Insurance contributions, and student loan deductions every pay day with a linked P32 Employment Payment record that works out what you need to pay HMRC
• interactive forms such as P11D working sheets
• a Learning Zone - including interactive learning material on SSP

You can opt out of the statutory sick pay (SSP) scheme if you have an occupational sick pay scheme that offers employees daily rates that are the same or better than SSP.

However, employees still have an underlying entitlement to SSP for the first 28 weeks in a period of incapacity for work (PIW).

Deciding on the terms of an occupational sick pay (OSP) scheme

A scheme run by an employer is usually known as an OSP scheme.

As an employer, you may wish to pay employees more than the statutory minimum. In this case, you will need to decide on the terms and conditions of the scheme.

It is up to you to decide whether or not you want your OSP scheme to be contractual. If you do make it contractual, you should include the details in each employee's contract and/or the company handbook.

However, even where there are no details of this in the employee's contract/company handbook, and you make enhanced payments over a period of time, the employee could regard this entitlement as contractual through custom and practice.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

What you need to do

With any OSP scheme, you should:

• decide if either all employees qualify or only those with a minimum period of service - ensure any indirect discrimination can be objectively justified
• decide on the maximum rate of OSP you will allow - many employers pay full basic pay for a certain period of time - you can 'top up' SSP to whatever amount you wish to pay
• decide how long your highest level of pay will last, before either stopping or reducing these payments, eg, from full pay to half pay
• ensure that OSP does not exceed normal pay - it must also not be less than SSP - any payment can be inclusive of SSP
• pay SSP during any periods that OSP is not payable during the first 28 weeks in a PIW
• issue a form SPP1 if a person has been sick for 28 weeks - even if OSP continues to be paid

Record-keeping under an OSP scheme

There is no longer a need to keep records of SSP paid, but records that could be required by HMRC are absences from work. You can choose how to keep these records. HMRC may need to see these if there is a dispute over payment.

You will also need to keep sufficient records to complete form SSP1, so that your employee may claim employment and support allowance if necessary. This might happen if they had received their maximum 28 weeks' SSP or run out of their entitlement to OSP and were not entitled to SSP from you.

Whether you pay only statutory sick pay (SSP) or operate an occupational sick pay scheme, you must detail your rules on sick pay in each employee's written statement of employment particulars or refer them to an accessible and separate document, eg ,company handbook, which gives these details.

You must give a written statement to all employees who work for you for one month or more. Read more on the written statement.

See Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance on preparing a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.

Precedent in overpayment of SSP

If you (mistakenly) pay more than the SSP rate over a period of time, employees could regard the payments as contractual through 'custom and practice'.

If you then try to reduce payments to the SSP rate, the employee could claim:

• unlawful deduction of wages
• breach of contract
• constructive dismissal - although they would have to resign first

Contact HMRC for further advice on SSP - see Statutory Sick Pay and leave.

Long-term sickness and dismissal

An employee's inability to do their job because of long-term sick leave can be a potentially fair reason for dismissal.

However, in the event of an unfair dismissal complaint, an industrial tribunal will expect you to have acted reasonably by:

• consulting the employee and finding out as much as possible about their condition and the likely timescale for their recovery
• seeking medical advice from an Occupational Health Physician or GP
• considering all the alternatives to dismissal, such as changing the employee's role or hours of work
• following the statutory three-stage dismissal and disciplinary process

The tribunal will consider your business's size when deciding whether a dismissal was reasonable.

See how to manage absence and sickness and find out more about dismissing employees.

You should also consider whether or not the employee is disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 when considering dismissal on the grounds of long-term sickness. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sickness and holiday entitlement

If an employee is on sick leave, they can normally build up four weeks of statutory paid holiday time, like any other employee. Statutory holiday entitlement is built up while an employee is off work sick. This is the case no matter how long the employee is off.

Any statutory holiday entitlement that isn't used because of illness can be carried over into the next leave year. Holiday leave carried over in this way must be taken by the end of the period of 18 months from the end of the holiday leave year in which entitlement originally arose.

Taking holiday while off sick

An employee can use their paid holiday (annual leave) while off sick. For example, if they:

• are not physically able to work, but are physically able to take a holiday
• have a mental health condition that might be helped by a holiday
• are off sick long term, and a holiday might help with their recovery

It's up to an employee to request holiday while off sick. An employer cannot force an employee to take holiday while off sick.

If an employee is sick on holiday

An employee must report their sickness to their employer if they want to take holiday as sick leave. In this case, the employee can:

• get statutory sick pay for the time they were sick - as long as they are entitled to it
• keep the time they were sick to use as holiday another time