SSP Employment Reforms:
The new Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce changes to how SSP is paid and calculated from 6 April 2026:
- The current “waiting days” will be removed, meaning, statutory sick pay will be paid from the first day of sickness absence.
- There will be a new method for calculating SSP. The current lower earnings limit will be removed, meaning all employees will be eligible, regardless of how much they earn.
To calculate SSP, it will be either at 80% of the employees’ normal weekly earnings, or the statutory flat rate (set to become £123.25 from April 6), whichever is the lowest.
We recently ran our webinar on the SSP reforms, which you can watch back on demand here, as well as access our webinar slides.
Lets take a look at the updated statutory rates:
| Current Rate | Proposed New Rate (from 6 April 2026) | |
| Statutory maternity pay | £187.18 per week | £194.32 per week |
| Statutory paternity pay | £187.18 per week | £194.32 per week |
| Statutory shared parental pay | £187.18 per week | £194.32 per week |
| Statutory adoption pay | £187.18 per week | £194.32 per week |
| Statutory parental bereavement pay | £187.18 per week | £194.32 per week |
| Statutory neonatal care leave pay | £187.18 per week | £194.32 per week |
| Statutory sick pay | £118.75 per week | £123.25 per week |
