When does sick pay start? The employer’s guide

For years, the answer to this question sat quietly in the background of most absence policies. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) started on the fourth day of absence, and employees also had to meet a minimum earnings threshold, meaning many short-term absences did not qualify for Statutory Sick Pay.

That changed on 6 April 2026, as the Employment Rights Act removed both the three unpaid waiting days and the lower earnings limit, meaning SSP is now payable from day one to all eligible employees, regardless of earnings.

The change comes as UK sickness absence is already at its highest level in more than 15 years. The CIPD reports an average of 9.4 days lost per employee annually, while the UK Government estimated that day-one SSP could result in workers receiving an additional £400 million in Statutory Sick Pay each year.

As more sickness absence qualifies for SSP, employers should expect a rise in sickness absences, increasing both the financial impact of absence and the importance of managing it effectively.

Organisations need to review their policies, contracts and absence processes to reflect the new statutory framework, while ensuring managers have the support they need and HR has the insight to identify trends early. Let’s explore what’s changed and what proactive absence management looks like in practice.

SSP from day one: what changed

Three things happened at once, and each one changes how organisations now have to plan, budget and manage absence.

1. SSP now starts on day one: The three unpaid waiting days are gone, so a single day of sickness that used to cost nothing now costs £123.25 per week or 80% of an employee’s average weekly earnings – whichever is lower – for a standard five-day-a-week employee, and once that is multiplied across a workforce taking the CIPD average, the numbers stop being trivial very quickly.
2. The lower earnings limit has been scrapped: Every employee who has a contract and has done some work under it now qualifies for SSP, including the part-time, casual and lower-paid staff, and if your workforce includes zero-hours contracts, flexible working arrangements or a large part-time population, this is where your exposure will land hardest.
3. Low earners are paid proportionately, not excluded: This removes a previous eligibility barrier for lower-paid employees, meaning organisations with large frontline, part-time or variable-hours workforces may see the biggest operational impact.

These reforms are also backed by stronger enforcement, as the newly established Fair Work Agency has powers to investigate SSP underpayments directly, making it even more important that absence processes reflect the new rules.

SSP reform is one part of a much wider package of employment law changes. To see what else is changing, download our Employment Rights Act tracker, maintained by our group employment law experts.

Updating policies and contracts is only the first step. The bigger question is whether managers and HR teams have the tools, data and support needed to manage higher absence volumes consistently.

Employer absence management actions

It’s easy to see SSP reform as a payroll change. In practice, it’s an absence management challenge.

With SSP now payable from day one and available to all employees regardless of earnings, organisations should expect a rise in absence cases.

Reactive approaches built on spreadsheets or inconsistent manager practices make it harder to identify patterns, support managers consistently and intervene early.

Priority actions:

• Update contracts or issue variation letters with the new SSP rules.
• Review policies, ensuring managers understand the changes consistently.
• Use case data to identify patterns and enable managers to intervene earlier.

Proactive absence management is now vital, with absence rates at record highs, and with mental health one of the biggest drivers, inconsistent decisions can quickly become employee relations issues and risk burnout.

For organisations managing absence at scale, transforming the HR operating model is key. The strongest results come from combining employee relations case management technology with expert HR support, backed by legal privilege. This builds manager confidence and gives HR data-driven insights to improve people and business outcomes at scale.

Proactive absence management in action

Starbucks UK combined AdviserPlus’ empower® ER case management system with outsourced HR advisory services to give HR real-time visibility of absence, equip managers with guided workflows and expert support, and create a more proactive approach to sickness absence management.

The results included:

• 10% reduction in absence costs within 12 months.
• More than 15,000 hours returned to frontline services.
• 52% of sickness case actions managed digitally by managers.

HR gained timely visibility of absence trends and cases, enabling earlier intervention and better-informed decision-making. At the same time, managers were equipped with guided workflows, automated prompts and expert HR support, giving them the confidence to manage absence consistently and reducing the burden on HR.

Read the full case study today.

Managing staff absence: where to start

As part of the Empowering People Group, we can support with:

• Reviewing contracts and policies that references the old SSP waiting period or earnings threshold.
• Checking your case management processes are suitable for the new level of complexity.
• Training managers and giving them tools to build capability.
• Building the absence case data view that helps HR better understand the ‘where’ and ‘why’.

Our HR and legal experts unpack the full impact of SSP reform, cost exposure and practical next steps in our webinar: Statutory Sick Pay – Unpacking the impact on costs and complexity, available on-demand with British Sign Language translation.