# Statutory Sick Pay for part-time bar and kitchen staff in 2026: no waiting days, no earnings floor, and the 80% rule

> SSP is now paid from the first day and to staff on low hours. What a part-time bar worker is owed a week at £123.25 or 80% of earnings, with worked figures.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/statutory-sick-pay-2026-bar-staff-part-time-80-percent-rule/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Restaurants, pubs and small hotels, Staff, rotas and tips
- Published 5 October 2026
- Key fact: At the £12.71 National Living Wage, the 80% rule beats the £123.25 flat rate below £154.06 a week, which is 12.1 hours; so a 10-hour bar worker is owed £101.68 a week in SSP and a 12-hour worker £122.02, while anyone on 16 hours or more is owed the full £123.25 (we calculated this for 8, 10, 12, 16, 20 and 30 hours).
- Sources: GOV.UK, Statutory Sick Pay overview, What you'll get, and Eligibility pages, read 5 October 2026; GOV.UK, Employer's guide to Statutory Sick Pay, read 5 October 2026; GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, read 5 October 2026; Employment Rights Act 2025 as commenced for SSP from 6 April 2026.

Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first qualifying day a person is off ill, and there is no minimum weekly wage to qualify. Earlier, there were three unpaid waiting days and staff earning under the lower earnings limit were left out. For a pub or cafe with part-timers on 8 to 12 hours a week, the second change matters most.

The rate on GOV.UK is up to £123.25 a week, or 80% of normal weekly earnings if that is lower. It is paid for up to 28 weeks. The numbers below use the £12.71 an hour National Living Wage that applies to staff aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026.

## Who is owed it

GOV.UK sets three conditions for SSP. The person must be classed as an employee, must have done some work for you, and must have been ill for at least one full working day. Agency workers may also be entitled. The page lists no earnings test.

Two things stop it. A person who has already had 28 weeks of SSP is not owed more, and nor is someone receiving Statutory Maternity Pay.

The employee has to tell you by the deadline you have set, or within 7 days if you have not set one. A late report can cost them the pay, so write the deadline into the contract and the staff handbook. A deadline that says "ring the pub before your shift starts" is easy to follow and easy to prove.

## The 80% rule on a pub rota

GOV.UK says the employer works out average weekly earnings over an 8-week period, then pays the lower of 80% of that or £123.25. The flat rate is reached only when 80% of the average is at least £123.25, which means average pay of £154.06 a week. At £12.71 an hour that is 12.1 hours.

| Weekly hours | Average weekly pay | 80% of pay | SSP a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | £101.68 | £81.34 | £81.34 |
| 10 | £127.10 | £101.68 | £101.68 |
| 12 | £152.52 | £122.02 | £122.02 |
| 16 | £203.36 | £162.69 | £123.25 |
| 20 | £254.20 | £203.36 | £123.25 |
| 30 | £381.30 | £305.04 | £123.25 |

A person on 16 hours in three shifts of about five hours who is off sick for a week is owed £123.25. Paid for the three days they would have worked, that is £41.08 a day (the weekly sum spread over the 3 qualifying days, using the pattern in the contract or the usual rota). A 10-hour worker off for one shift is owed a third of £101.68, or £33.89.

The figures are for pay at the minimum wage. Pay above it raises the 80% figure until the £123.25 flat rate takes over. Our guide to [National Insurance on tips and service charge](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/national-insurance-on-tips-service-charge-tronc/) separates the tips that go through payroll from those that do not; check with your payroll provider how each counts in average earnings.

## What counts as a qualifying day

SSP is paid for the full days someone is off that they would normally have worked. For staff on a set pattern, that is the days in the contract. For casual bar staff and zero-hours workers, the usual route is to look at the days they actually worked in recent weeks and treat the likely days as qualifying days; the safest course is to agree the rule in writing. A rota that is only published a week ahead makes this harder, so keep the published rotas, because they show which shifts the person was given. The [bar staff rota template](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/bar-staff-rota-template-rest-breaks-clopen/) keeps each week's shifts in one dated page.

## Linked absences and fit notes

Two spells of sickness that each last more than one working day and fall 8 weeks or less apart are linked. They count as one period towards the 28 weeks, and the total ends if the series runs on for more than 3 years.

You can ask for a fit note after 7 days off in a row. It can come from a GP, nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist, and with the employee's agreement you can accept other evidence, such as a health report. For the first 7 days you cannot demand a doctor's note; a short signed self-certification is the common route.

## Holiday pay is separate

SSP is not holiday pay, and the two are worked out separately. Our guide to [rolled-up holiday pay](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/rolled-up-holiday-pay-legal-casual-bar-staff-12-07-percent/) covers the holiday side for irregular rotas.

## Putting it into the books

1. Add SSP to payroll for every employee off ill for a full working day, from the first qualifying day.
2. Take the 8-week average for each person, not the contract hours.
3. Record the dates, the qualifying days and the notice the person gave.
4. Ask for a fit note after 7 days in a row.
5. Count linked spells towards the 28 weeks.
6. Cost it into the rota. The [rota cost calculator](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/rota-cost-calculator-hospitality-employer-ni/) gives the all-in cost of a week, and an absence that has to be covered adds a second wage on top of the SSP.
7. Put the new rules into the first-day paperwork; our [new starter checklist](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/new-starter-checklist-restaurant-pub-staff/) already lists sick pay among the information to give on the first day.

Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) can set up an AI assistant that keeps each person's 8-week average, works out the SSP for a sick report, and flags the fit note date for a manager to approve.

This is general information, not legal advice.

---
![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png)

General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.