Statutory sick pay: payroll preparation

Statutory sick pay preparation must use the rules applying to the sickness period, including the changes from 6 April 2026. The previous waiting-day and lower-earnings-limit approach should not be carried forward without checking the new requirements and any transition rules.

For the new regime, assess the applicable rate using the lower of the statutory flat rate and 80% of average weekly earnings. Keep eligibility, qualifying days and contractual sick pay distinct.

Record the absence and the applicable dates

Capture when the sickness began, the days the worker would have worked and when the employer was notified. Keep any return-to-work date and later linked absence identifiable. Payroll needs those facts to assess the payment, but the general wage-input file does not need a detailed medical history. Agree a secure route for supporting information and limit access to people with a defined role in handling the absence.

The SSP changes effective from 6 April 2026 removed the former lower earnings limit and waiting-day approach for the new regime. Eligible workers are paid from the first full qualifying day, with the applicable amount based on the lower of the statutory flat rate and 80% of average weekly earnings. Transitional and linked-absence rules can matter, so record the complete chronology rather than applying a new setting without reviewing ongoing cases. ^[1]

Establish qualifying days and earnings evidence

For a regular working pattern, compare the absence with the days the employee would normally have worked. For an irregular pattern, establish the qualifying-day arrangement through the appropriate process and retain the basis used. Calendar days and payable qualifying days are not always identical. A simple count of dates on a fit note may therefore be insufficient to explain the payroll calculation.

Preserve the earnings information used to calculate average weekly earnings under the applicable rules. Check for earlier payroll errors, unusual payments and the relevant reference period before relying on an automated result. Where the employee is newly engaged or the history is incomplete, follow the specific guidance rather than inventing a normal weekly amount. Label the evidence and calculation so another payroll operator can reproduce the result.

Separate statutory and contractual sick pay

Review the contract or sick-pay policy to establish any employer enhancement and how it interacts with SSP. State whether the displayed payment includes the statutory element or is additional to it. Without that distinction, payroll can accidentally pay both amounts in full when the policy intended a combined total, or reduce contractual pay incorrectly because the statutory rate changed.

Ask HR to confirm the authorised contractual treatment for the period and any policy conditions requiring review. Payroll should calculate the agreed arrangement but should not decide a disputed entitlement solely from a manager's informal comment. Keep the statutory assessment, contractual instruction and resulting payslip lines connected. This allows the employee to understand the payment without having to infer the relationship between several unexplained absence codes.

Review continuing and repeated absences

For an absence spanning a rule-change date, identify the periods before and after the change and assess any transitional protection. For repeated sickness, check whether the periods link and how that affects the calculation and remaining entitlement. Avoid restarting the whole assessment as if each absence were unrelated. A chronology is often the clearest way to expose an incorrect assumption in an otherwise plausible software result. ^[1]

Maintain a record of statutory pay already used and any expected end date, subject to changes in the facts. Alert the responsible person in time to provide the appropriate information if SSP is unavailable or coming to an end. Do not leave the worker to discover a large reduction only when the payslip arrives. Communications should explain the payment position without making unsupported statements about medical fitness or future benefit entitlement.

Check the payroll output and communicate the result

Compare the qualifying days, rate calculation and contractual enhancement with the final payslip. Ensure the approved absence record reached payroll before the cut-off, and document any later correction. If the employee disputes the amount, identify whether the disagreement concerns dates, eligibility, earnings or policy interpretation. That distinction helps route the question to payroll, HR or the relevant specialist instead of passing it between teams without a defined issue.

Read Payroll for irregular working hours where an irregular working pattern complicates the records, and contact Payroll administration to discuss SSP payroll preparation. Initially provide the absence dates, work pattern and the nature of the calculation question without unnecessary medical details. Use the agreed secure process for any supporting personal information needed to complete the review.

Check recurring software settings after the first calculation under a changed rule or policy. A manual adjustment may correct one payslip while leaving the underlying configuration wrong for the next absence. Record both the immediate correction and any setup change, with a follow-up check on the next affected payroll.

Illustrative scenario

An employee’s sickness spans the rule-change date. Payroll checks the official transition guidance and retains the calculation instead of applying the old settings to the whole absence automatically.

Preparation checklist

• Record sickness dates
• Check current eligibility rules
• Calculate the applicable rate
• Separate contractual enhancements