Statutory Sick Pay Calculator: What a Missed Shift Costs You From Day One
Enter what a staff member was paid over the last eight weeks, the days they normally work and the days they missed. The calculator gives the Statutory Sick Pay you owe under the rules in force since 6 April 2026, and what the same absence would have cost before.
Alex Riesenkampff
15 October 2026 · 5 min read · Markdown
Enter what the person was paid over the last eight weeks, the days they normally work and the days they missed. The calculator works out their average weekly earnings, the weekly and daily SSP rate, and what you owe for the absence. It also shows what the same absence would have cost before 6 April 2026, which is the number many owners still carry in their heads.
What does this absence cost in Statutory Sick Pay?
2026/27 rules: SSP is the lower of £123.25 a week and 80% of average weekly earnings, divided across the qualifying days in the week and paid from the first qualifying day missed. The 2025/26 comparison applies the old rules: nothing for the first three qualifying days, nothing at all if average earnings were under the £125 Lower Earnings Limit, and a flat £118.75 a week otherwise. Figures are to the penny and may differ from your payroll by a penny. Employer National Insurance and pension are not included. Sources: GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk, see sources.
Working out the earnings figure
Average weekly earnings come from the eight weeks that end on your last normal payday before the first full day the person was off sick. Add up what you paid them in that stretch and divide by eight. GOV.UK's guidance says to count all earnings on which Class 1 National Insurance is due and not to round the result to whole pence. For someone paid monthly, the period usually covers two monthly paydays: divide that pay by 2, multiply by 12 and divide by 52. Enter eight times that weekly figure with 8 weeks.
That makes the rota the hard part. A bar worker paid £60 one week and £220 the next has no single weekly wage, so the eight-week total does the work: £1,120 over eight weeks is £140 a week, whatever the swings. Our guide to holiday pay for irregular-hours staff covers the related problem for annual leave, where the average runs over 52 weeks instead of eight.
For someone who started recently, enter the weeks of pay you have and the total paid. GOV.UK treats everything paid under the contract as the relevant period and divides by the number of weeks it covers. Tips count only if they are earnings on which Class 1 National Insurance is due, which depends on how they reach staff. Our guide to tips and tronc explains where the line sits.
Qualifying days decide the daily rate
SSP is paid for qualifying days, which are the days the person normally works under their contract, or days you and they agree. GOV.UK's instruction is: "Divide the weekly SSP rate by the number of qualifying days in that week." So the same weekly rate gives a smaller daily figure to someone who works six days than to someone who works three.
For a worker with a fixed pattern, enter the days in their usual week. For someone on a different pattern each week, agree the qualifying days with them before they are ever ill. Agreeing them avoids a dispute, and if you cannot agree, GOV.UK's default rules for qualifying days apply. A single full working day of sickness is now enough for SSP to be payable.
| Average weekly earnings | Weekly SSP rate |
|---|---|
| £100 | £80.00 |
| £125 | £100.00 |
| £140 | £112.00 |
| About £154 or more | £123.25 |
| Working days a week | Daily SSP at the £123.25 rate |
|---|---|
| 3 | £41.08 |
| 4 | £30.81 |
| 5 | £24.65 |
| 6 | £20.54 |
Two absences, worked through
A bar worker who averages £140 a week and works four days is owed £28.00 for each day off, so £56.00 for two. Their weekly rate is 80% of £140, which is £112, shared across four qualifying days. Under the rules before 6 April 2026 this absence cost nothing, because it was shorter than the three waiting days.
A full-time cook on £400 a week, working five days, is owed £73.95 for three days off and £123.25 for a full week. They are above the £154 crossover, so the flat rate applies and each day is £24.65. Before the reform the three-day absence was free for you. A five-day absence cost £47.50, the last two days at £23.75 each on the old £118.75 weekly rate.
What the calculator leaves out
- Employer National Insurance. HMRC's manual says contributions are payable on SSP. If the person's pay for the week, SSP included, is above £96, you pay 15% on the excess for most employees. Under-21s and apprentices under 25 have their own rates.
- Pension. SSP is earnings for automatic enrolment under the Pensions Act 2008. Where the person is enrolled on the qualifying-earnings basis, the 3% minimum applies only to pay between £6,240 and £50,270 a year, about £120 a week at the bottom. A week paid only in SSP adds pennies, and your scheme's rules set the exact figure.
- Contractual sick pay. SSP is the floor. If your contracts promise more, pay that.
- Linked absences and the 28-week limit. Two spells of sickness no more than eight weeks apart link into one period, and SSP stops after 28 weeks. The calculator prices one absence. Our day-one SSP guide covers the eligibility tests and what operators are reporting.
- Several jobs. Where earnings from two contracts are not aggregated, the person may be owed SSP under each.
- Recovery. There is none: HMRC says the reimbursement of SSP was abolished for all employers.
- Absences that straddled 6 April 2026. These follow GOV.UK's transitional guidance.
For the cost of the hire itself, before any absence, use the employee cost calculator. If sickness cover is eating into your rota, our fair rota guide is the place to start.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out average weekly earnings for someone on a changing rota?
Add up everything paid to them in the eight weeks that end on the last normal payday before their first full day off sick, then divide by eight. A rota that swings between £60 and £220 a week and pays £1,120 over the eight weeks gives £140. Do not round the result to whole pence. For a new starter with fewer than eight weeks of pay, divide what they were paid by the number of weeks they have been paid for.
How much SSP do I pay for one day off?
The weekly SSP rate divided by the number of qualifying days in that week. At the flat rate of £123.25 that is £24.65 for a five-day week and £30.81 for a four-day week. Someone on lower average earnings gets 80% of those earnings as the weekly rate, so the day is worth less. A single full working day of sickness is enough for SSP to be payable.
Does the calculator include employer National Insurance and pension?
No. HMRC says National Insurance contributions are payable on SSP, which for most employees on a weekly total above the £96 secondary threshold means 15% employer National Insurance on top. SSP also counts as earnings for automatic enrolment, though on the qualifying-earnings basis the 3% minimum applies only to pay above about £120 a week. Add both to the figure here to get the full cost of the absence.
Is SSP all I have to pay someone who is off sick?
It is the legal minimum, not the cap. If the contract promises more, such as full pay for a set number of days, that promise applies and the SSP is part of it rather than an addition. The calculator only covers the statutory floor.
Can I claim SSP back from the government?
No. HMRC's Statutory Payments Manual says the reimbursement of SSP was abolished for all employers from April 1994, and that the Percentage Threshold Scheme, the last route to recover SSP, was abolished in April 2014.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Statutory Sick Pay, manually calculate your employee's payments — Updated 6 April 2026. Rate for 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 is "80% of average weekly earnings or £123.25, whichever is lower". Relevant period ends on the last normal payday before the first complete day of sickness; earnings are divided by 8; do not round to whole pence; new starters use all earnings paid under the contract. "Divide the weekly SSP rate by the number of qualifying days in that week." Worked example £123.25 / 5 = £24.65 a day, 3 days = £73.95. Checked 15 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk: Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, section 157 — Weekly rate is the lower of £123.25 and 80% of the employee's normal weekly earnings; the £123.25 figure inserted from 6 April 2026 by SI 2026/148. Checked 15 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk: Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, section 152 — Version in force from 6 April 2026: a period of incapacity for work can be a single day; periods separated by no more than 8 weeks link. Checked 15 October 2026.
- GOV.UK: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 — Updated 1 September 2026. SSP "£123.25 or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings, whichever is lower". Secondary Threshold £96 a week, employer rate 15%. Checked 15 October 2026.
- GOV.UK: Rates and thresholds for employers 2025 to 2026 — Updated 1 March 2026. SSP table for a 7-day week shows £118.75; National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit £125 a week. Checked 15 October 2026.
- GOV.UK: Sickness absences that start before and end on or after 6 April 2026 — Published 18 March 2026. SSP is payable from the first full day of sickness absence; waiting days no longer apply. Checked 15 October 2026.
- Acas: Statutory sick pay (SSP) — Updated 30 June 2026. SSP is paid from the first day of sickness absence instead of the fourth; the lower earnings limit has been removed. Checked 15 October 2026.
- GOV.UK: Employer guidance, who gets SSP and the qualifying conditions — Employees must have been sick for at least one full working day. Checked 15 October 2026.
- GOV.UK: Statutory Sick Pay, how different employment types affect what you pay — Updated 6 April 2026. Zero-hours workers are eligible if they meet the other conditions; employees with more than one contract may receive more than one SSP payment. Checked 15 October 2026.
- HMRC Employment Income Manual, EIM76350 — Updated 11 September 2026. "National Insurance contributions are payable on SSP." Checked 15 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk: Pensions Act 2008, section 13 — Statutory sick pay under Part 11 of the 1992 Act is listed as earnings for automatic enrolment. Checked 15 October 2026.
- GOV.UK: Workplace pensions, what you, your employer and the government pay — Minimum employer contribution 3%, on earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year. Checked 15 October 2026.
- HMRC Statutory Payments Manual, SPM180100 — Updated 18 May 2026. "From April 1994, the 80% reimbursement rate of SSP was abolished for all employers"; "In April 2014 PTS was abolished." Checked 15 October 2026.