Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) explained for hospitality employers

SSP is £118.75 per week for the 2025/26 tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026). It is paid for the days the employee would normally have worked — these are called "qualifying days" — not for every calendar day.

The daily rate is the weekly rate divided by the number of qualifying days. A 5-day worker gets £23.75/day; a 6-day worker £19.79/day.

An employee qualifies for SSP if they: are classed as an employee and have done some work for you; have been ill for at least 4 days in a row (the "Period of Incapacity for Work", including non-working days); earn at least £125/week on average over the 8 weeks before sickness started (the Lower Earnings Limit for 2025/26); and have told you they are sick within your notification deadline (or within 7 days if you have not set one).

Casual, agency and zero-hours workers can qualify too, as long as they meet the earnings test in the relevant period.

SSP is not paid for the first 3 qualifying days of any sickness period — these are "waiting days". From day 4 onwards SSP becomes payable, up to a maximum of 28 weeks per period of incapacity.

If two periods of sickness are 8 weeks or less apart, they "link" and count as one period — the waiting days are not re-served.

For the first 7 calendar days of sickness, employees can self-certify. From day 8 they need a fit note (Statement of Fitness for Work) from a GP, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist.

You cannot demand a doctor’s note before day 8. If you want earlier evidence you can ask the employee to complete a self-certification form (e.g. SC2).

Pay SSP through PAYE on the normal payday, with Income Tax and NI deducted as usual. Show it as a separate line on the payslip.

Since April 2014 employers can no longer reclaim SSP from HMRC. Budget for it like any other wage cost.

Keep a record of dates of sickness lasting at least 4 days, payments of SSP, and dates SSP was not paid (with reason — e.g. waiting days). Keep these for at least 3 years after the end of the relevant tax year.

Most payroll software stores this automatically; if you run payroll on a spreadsheet, build a simple sickness log alongside it.

You can pay more than SSP through a Company Sick Pay scheme. If you do, set out clearly in the contract: the qualifying period, the rate, the maximum duration, and whether waiting days are paid. Inconsistent application is a common ET claim.