Statutory Sick Pay Changes April 2026: Who Qualifies & What SMEs Do

SSP Law Changes Coming in 2026

If you run a small business with part-time staff, short shifts, irregular hours, or weekend teams, the SSP law changes coming in 2026 are not a small tweak.

They will change who qualifies for Statutory Sick Pay, and they will change how quickly you need to respond when someone reports sick. The good news is you do not need a complicated policy. You need a clear process that managers follow consistently, so you can support genuine illness without absence turning into chaos.

These changes sit under the wider reforms that started life as the Employment Rights Bill and are now set out in the Employment Rights Act 2025. ACAS lists the SSP changes as going live on 6 April 2026.

This post covers:

• What changes are coming to SSP
• Is SSP changing from April 2026 (yes)
• Statutory sick pay changes 2026 in plain English
• Who is newly covered now the Lower Earnings Limit is removed
• What you should update in your handbook, payroll and manager habits

Quick headline summary (from 6 April 2026)

1. SSP becomes payable from day one (no more waiting days).

2. The Lower Earnings Limit is removed, so more part-time and lower-paid staff qualify.

3. SSP will be paid at £123.25 per week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

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THE HIVE BRIEF: What is the new sick pay law and why it matters to SMEs

Let's keep this human. Most sickness issues in small businesses aren't legal issues. They're people issues.

It's not the SSP amount that causes the biggest headaches. It's:

• Managers reacting differently
• Sickness being reported in random ways
• Staff feeling it's not fair
• Cover arrangements causing resentment
• No-one logging anything properly, so you can't see patterns until it's already a full-blown drama

These statutory sick pay changes 2026 are a great reason to tidy up the basics, because they will touch more of your workforce.

And if you have a mix of full-time and part-time roles, or variable hours, the removal of the earnings threshold is the big one. Previously some lower earners didn't qualify for SSP at all. From April 2026, more people qualify, so your process needs to be clear, calm and consistent.

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THE BEEHIVE UPDATE: What changes are coming to SSP from 6 April 2026

Here are the three changes you actually need to know.

1. SSP is paid from day one

The waiting days are removed, so SSP starts from the first day of sickness absence, not the fourth.

What this means in real life:

- Short absences matter more from a payroll and process point of view

- Managers need to log absence properly from the start

- Return-to-work chats become even more important (because you'll see patterns sooner)

2. The Lower Earnings Limit is removed

Employees no longer need to earn above a weekly threshold to qualify, meaning more part-time and lower-paid staff will be eligible.

What this means in real life:

- You can't assume "they only do a couple of shifts so it won't apply"

- You need the same reporting rules for everyone, not "full-timers only"

- You need consistency across managers, otherwise you'll create instant resentment

3. SSP calculation changes

For 2026 to 2027, the weekly rate is £123.25 or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Why the "whichever is lower" bit matters:

- It stops SSP being higher than someone's usual pay for lower earners

- It links entitlement more closely to actual earnings while still keeping the safety net of a set rate

THE FORAGER LIST: Who is more likely to qualify now

In a 1–100 person business, this change usually shows up first in these groups:

• Weekend staff and Saturday teams
• People on short part-time contracts
• Staff with variable hours
• Seasonal workers
• Lower paid roles that previously fell below the earnings threshold

If you operate in hospitality, retail, care, leisure, salons, trades, warehousing, cleaning, or any business with shifts, you're likely to see SSP applying more often simply because more people now qualify.

This is not automatically a problem. It becomes a problem when:

• Your reporting process is unclear, or
• Managers handle sickness differently, or
• The team believes some people "get away with it".

THE STING IN THE TAIL: The real risk is inconsistency

This is where SMEs get in a muddle.

One manager says "don't worry about it."

Another manager asks for proof immediately.

Another ignores it until they're annoyed.

And then the owner ends up referee, therapist and cover organiser.

That's when rumours start, resentment builds, and your good people get fed up.

So yes, is SSP changing from April 2026? Yes.

But your biggest win is not memorising the rules. Your biggest win is making sure sickness is handled one clear way across the business.

Because when it's inconsistent, it becomes personal fast.

THE HONEYCOMB PLAYBOOK: A simple sickness process for SMEs (the one-page version)

If you do nothing else, do these five things. This is the simple but solid version that works in the real world.

1. Set one reporting route

Decide exactly how sickness is reported, who they contact, and how.

A simple approach that works well for SMEs:

- Staff can notify sickness by phone, text, or email to their manager

- But if they text or email, a manager will call them back to confirm the key details

This keeps it human, reduces misunderstandings, and stops vague messages like "not feeling great" floating around with no plan.

Handbook wording you can use:

> "If you report sickness by text or email, your manager (or duty manager if your manager is off) will call you back to confirm the details and expected return date."

2. Set a clear cut-off time

Example: at least one hour before shift start, unless it's a genuine emergency.

This is not about being harsh. It's about being able to cover shifts safely and fairly.

3. Set the minimum info required

Keep it simple and respectful:

- Confirm you're not fit to work today

- Expected return date if you can estimate

- Whether you need any support on return

You do not need a medical essay.

4. Do a return-to-work chat every time

Five minutes. Calm. Consistent.

A simple structure:

- How are you now

- Anything we should know to support you

- Anything work-related that contributed (if relevant)

- Quick reminder of reporting steps

- Welcome back

This is one of the best habits for reducing repeat short absences without becoming the attendance police.

5. Keep a basic record in the right place (and stop the random notes)

Sickness information is confidential. Health information is special category data under UK GDPR, so it should be stored securely with limited access.

Best practice is logging absence in an HRIS system (for example BreatheHR or similar) because:

- Access is controlled

- Records are centralised

- It avoids oversharing

- It keeps you out of the post-it notes and handover diary danger zone

So yes: no post-it notes, no scribbling sick details in the daily handover diary, and no open spreadsheets that half the office can access.

Keep records:

- Factual

- Minimal

- Access controlled

- In one secure system

That protects the employee and protects you.

THE QUEEN BEE CHECKLIST: What to update before April 2026

Here's your quick checklist:

• Update your sickness reporting rules in your handbook
• Add the "text or email then manager calls to confirm" step
• Brief your managers on the script and the process
• Check payroll settings are ready for day one SSP and the new calculation
• Decide your trigger points and make sure they're applied fairly
• Make return-to-work chats non-negotiable
• Agree where absence is logged (HRIS) and stop informal recording

If you do those things before April, you'll be ahead of most businesses your size.

THE POLLEN TRAIL: Trigger points without becoming miserable about it

Let's talk about the awkward bit: repeat short absences.

Trigger points are not there to punish people. They're there to make sure patterns don't get ignored until you're frustrated and say something you regret.

Examples of fair triggers:

• 3 occasions in 8 weeks
• 4 occasions in 6 months
• A clear pattern (regular Mondays and Fridays)

Trigger reached means conversation.

That conversation should sound like:

> "I've noticed a few short absences and I wanted to check in. Is everything ok? Is there anything we can do to support you? I also need to be clear that we need reliable attendance."

Supportive, but clear.

THE WORKER BEE FAQs

Do part-time staff qualify now?

More of them will, yes. The Lower Earnings Limit is removed from 6 April 2026, so earnings alone won't exclude them in the same way it did before.

What changes are coming to SSP?

The big statutory sick pay changes 2026 are:

• SSP from day one
• Earnings threshold removed
• SSP paid at £123.25 per week or 80% of AWE, whichever is lower

Is SSP changing from April 2026?

Yes. The SSP changes apply from 6 April 2026.

What is the new sick pay law rate?

For 2026 to 2027, SSP is £123.25 per week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Can someone just text in sick?

You can allow it, but keep it controlled. If they text or email, build in the call-back step so a manager confirms the basics.

Will this mean sickness increases?

Not necessarily. What it will do is expose weak processes. A clear, consistent approach usually reduces drama and resentment.

THE SWARM CONTEXT: Employment Rights Bill and Employment Rights Act 2025

If you've been following employment law updates, you'll know the SSP reforms didn't appear out of nowhere.

They came through the wider reforms that started life as the Employment Rights Bill and are now set out in the Employment Rights Act 2025, with the SSP changes landing in April 2026.

For a small business owner, the win is not trying to decode it all alone. The win is having:

• The right wording in your handbook
• Managers who know what to say
• A process that is fair, consistent and easy to follow
• An HRIS system that keeps everything tidy and confidential

If you want a monthly plain-English rundown of changes coming through from the Employment Rights Act 2025, that's exactly what our Employment Rights Act Advice membership is for.

Link:

https://kateunderwoodhr.co.uk/employment-rights-act-advice

I've also covered SSP on the Buzzing About HR podcast with a slightly different take, focusing on the real-life manager moments that make this go wrong. Worth a listen if you want the practical, human side of it.

THE FINAL BUZZ

These SSP law changes are not just a payroll tweak. They are a consistency test.

If your process is clear and your managers are aligned, you'll handle it smoothly and your team will feel it's fair.

If your process is loose, April will make it feel personal fast.

If you want help tightening this without overcomplicating it, that's exactly what we do. We can provide a simple one-page sickness process, manager scripts, and handbook wording that fits your business.

Kettle on, standards up.