Statutory Sick Pay Calculator

This statutory sick pay calculator works out your SSP for 2026/27 from your first day of sickness. Enter your average weekly earnings and days off — it pays the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of your earnings, with the working shown.

Being off sick is stressful enough without doing payroll maths at the kitchen table. Enter your average weekly earnings and how many days you were off, and this statutory sick pay calculator works out your SSP for you. No sign-up, nothing to buy.

If you’re reading a guide or using a calculator that mentions three unpaid “waiting days”, it’s out of date. The rules changed in April 2026, and this page uses the current ones.

What is Statutory Sick Pay?

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the legal minimum most employers must pay employees who are too ill to work. It’s a floor, not a ceiling — plenty of employers offer enhanced occupational sick pay on top, and if yours does, you’ll get whichever is higher. But nobody eligible should get less than SSP.

How this statutory sick pay calculator works

For 2026/27, SSP is whichever is lower of:

• £123.25 a week (the flat statutory rate), or
• 80% of your average weekly earnings

Your average weekly earnings are worked out from your pay over the 8 weeks before your sickness started — your employer does this bit, using your actual gross pay including regular overtime and bonuses. If you’re unsure of the figure, work out your normal weekly pay first.

Two things shape every SSP calculation. First, it’s paid from day 1 of sickness — the old three waiting days are gone. Second, it’s only paid for your normal working days (your “qualifying days”). If you don’t normally work Wednesdays, you don’t get SSP for Wednesdays. That means the daily rate depends entirely on your working pattern.

2026/27 daily SSP rates by working pattern

Working pattern	Weekly SSP (if above the 80% test)	Daily rate
5 days a week	£123.25	£24.65
4 days a week	£123.25	£30.81
3 days a week	£123.25	£41.08
2 days a week	£123.25	£61.63

The weekly figure never changes — it’s the daily figure that stretches or compresses. This is the bit that catches people out: a part-timer doing 3 shifts a week gets the same £123.25 weekly figure as a full-timer, just concentrated into fewer, larger daily payments.

Worked examples

Example 1: £400 average weekly earnings, 5-day week

1. 80% test: £400 × 80% = £320
2. Compare: £320 vs £123.25 cap → £123.25 is lower, so SSP = £123.25/week
3. Daily rate: £123.25 ÷ 5 = £24.65
4. 10 working days off: 10 × £24.65 = £246.50

Example 2: £120 average weekly earnings, 5-day week

1. 80% test: £120 × 80% = £96
2. Compare: £96 vs £123.25 cap → £96 is lower, so SSP = £96/week
3. Daily rate: £96 ÷ 5 = £19.20
4. 10 working days off: 10 × £19.20 = £192

This is the case the abolished lower earnings limit was designed for — someone earning £120 a week now gets SSP from day one, where before 2026 they might have got nothing at all.

Example 3: part-timer, 3 days a week, £200 average weekly earnings

1. 80% test: £200 × 80% = £160
2. Compare: £160 vs £123.25 cap → £123.25 is lower, so SSP = £123.25/week
3. Daily rate (3 qualifying days only): £123.25 ÷ 3 = £41.08
4. A full week off (all 3 working days): 3 × £41.08 = £123.25

Same weekly figure as the full-timer, bigger daily figure, fewer days paid. That’s how qualifying days work.

Linked periods of sickness

SSP can be paid for up to 28 weeks. If you have separate periods of sickness less than 56 days (8 weeks) apart, they’re usually treated as one “linked” period — they share the same 28-week entitlement rather than each getting a fresh 28 weeks. So if you were off for 20 weeks, back for a month, then off again, the second absence continues from week 21, not week 1.

Once the 28 weeks run out, SSP stops. Your employer should give you form SSP1, and you may be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance instead — GOV.UK’s ESA page has the current eligibility rules.

Self-certification and fit notes

For the first 7 days of sickness, you can usually self-certify — just tell your employer you’re ill, in whatever way their policy asks for (a phone call, an email, their HR portal). No doctor involved.

Beyond 7 days, your employer will typically ask for a fit note (what used to be called a sick note) from a doctor or other healthcare professional. Get it sorted before day 7 runs out if you can — chasing paperwork while ill is nobody’s idea of a good time, and delays can hold up payment.

Self-employed? SSP doesn’t apply

This one is blunt: if you’re self-employed, you get no Statutory Sick Pay at all. Not a reduced rate, not after a waiting period — nothing. SSP is an employer obligation, and with no employer there’s no SSP.

Self-employed workers who fall ill may instead be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit. Check current eligibility on GOV.UK. This calculator is built for employees only — if you’re self-employed, your numbers here would be fiction.

What your statutory sick pay calculator result means — and what to do next

Your statutory sick pay calculator result is your SSP entitlement for the days you entered, using the 2026/27 rules. A few things worth knowing about it:

• SSP is still subject to tax and National Insurance. It’s taxed like normal wages, so your take-home will be slightly less than the gross figure shown.
• Check for occupational sick pay. Your contract or staff handbook may promise more than SSP — many do. SSP is the floor; your employer’s scheme is what you actually get if it’s better.
• Keep your own records. Note your first day of absence and any fit notes. If there’s ever a dispute about what you’re owed, your own timeline is gold.
• If SSP stops or is refused, ask your employer for the reason in writing (form SSP1 if entitlement has run out), and check whether you’re eligible for Employment and Support Allowance.

What this doesn’t cover

This calculator works out statutory minimums for straightforward employee situations. It doesn’t cover: occupational/company sick pay schemes (check your contract), agency workers with unusual qualifying-day patterns, Statutory Maternity Pay or other statutory payments (Statutory Maternity Pay is a separate calculation — see our maternity pay calculator), or disputes with your employer about eligibility. If your employer says you’re not entitled and you disagree, ACAS is the right first call, not a calculator.