# Statutory sick pay from day one: what it costs a small trades firm since 6 April 2026

> Since 6 April 2026 sick pay starts on the first day off. Who gets it in a trades firm, the daily rate, and three absences worked out in pounds.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/trades/statutory-sick-pay-day-one-small-trades-firm/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Trades and building firms, Rules and paperwork
- Published 1 October 2026
- Key fact: Since 6 April 2026 statutory sick pay is due from the first full day off sick, at £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings if that is lower. On a five-day week that is £24.65 a day, so a three-day absence that used to fall inside the unpaid waiting days now costs the firm £73.95.
- Sources: GOV.UK "Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): employer guide"; HMRC "Statutory Sick Pay: manually calculate your employee's payments" (updated 6 April 2026) and "Statutory Sick Pay: how different employment types affect what you pay"; business.gov.uk "Your Sick Pay Rights" (updated 30 July 2026); all read 1 October 2026. The wages and the absence figures in the examples are invented.

Since 6 April 2026, statutory sick pay (SSP) starts on the first full day an employee is off sick, and there is no minimum earnings test. For a small trades firm that means every short absence now has a cost, and the part-timer in the office qualifies too. Here is who gets it, how to work it out, and what it adds up to.

## What changed on 6 April 2026

| | Before | Since 6 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| When SSP starts | The fourth day off sick | The first full day off sick |
| Earnings test | Only employees earning at least £125 a week | None |

The "before" column is from the government's summary on business.gov.uk. The new rules apply across the whole of the UK.

The rate for 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 is £123.25 a week, or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings if that is lower. It is paid for up to 28 weeks. You can pay more under your own sick pay scheme. You cannot pay less.

## Who gets it in a trades firm

GOV.UK's employer guide says that to qualify someone must have an employment contract, have done some work under it, and have been sick for at least one full working day.

- **Employees on the tools and in the office** qualify once they have done some work for you. HMRC has a method for new starters who have not yet had 8 weeks' pay.
- **Part-time, casual and zero-hours staff** qualify if they are classed as employees and meet the other conditions.
- **Self-employed subcontractors** do not. HMRC's guidance says: "Self-employed individuals, including self-employed agency workers, are not eligible for SSP." That holds only if they really are self-employed. GOV.UK's CIS guide tells contractors to check whether a person should be an employee instead, and our [CIS deduction calculator](https://aeolookup.com/trades/cis-deduction-calculator/) covers what you take from the ones who are subcontractors.
- **Directors** have to meet the same qualifying conditions as anyone else, and HMRC has separate rules for working out their average earnings.

One rule matters on site. GOV.UK says you cannot count a day as a sick day "if an employee has worked for a minute or more before they go home sick". Someone who starts at 7.30 and goes home ill at 9.00 has worked that day, so SSP starts on the next working day they are off.

## How to work out a short absence

1. Find the average weekly earnings. For a weekly-paid employee, add up the pay over the 8 weeks to the last payday before the sickness began and divide by 8.
2. Take 80% of that figure. If it is under £123.25, that is the weekly rate. If it is more, the weekly rate is £123.25.
3. Divide the weekly rate by the number of qualifying days in the week. Qualifying days are the days the person normally works.
4. Multiply by the number of qualifying days they were off.

Pay it on the normal payday, with tax and National Insurance taken off as for wages.

## Three absences worked out

The wages are invented. The method is HMRC's.

| Employee | Average weekly pay | Weekly SSP rate | Days worked a week | Daily rate | Time off | SSP due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time electrician | £720 | £123.25 | 5 | £24.65 | 3 days | £73.95 |
| Part-time office administrator | £100 | £80.00 | 2 | £40.00 | 1 day | £40.00 |
| Full-time labourer | £480 | £123.25 | 5 | £24.65 | 2 full weeks | £246.50 |

Under the old rules the electrician's three days would have been unpaid waiting days, and the administrator on £100 a week was under the £125 line, so no SSP was due however long the absence lasted.

The part-timer's daily rate is also higher than the electrician's. Eighty per cent of £100 is £80, and it is spread over two working days instead of five.

## What it adds up to in a year

Take a firm with eight employees, all on five-day weeks and all on the £123.25 rate. Assume each has four sick days a year, in spells of one to three days. That is our assumption, not a measured figure.

Eight employees × 4 days × £24.65 = £788.80 a year. Under the old rules those short spells fell inside the waiting days.

The largest single cost is one long absence. An employee off for the full 28 weeks is owed 28 × £123.25 = £3,451.

GOV.UK's employer guide, as we read it on 1 October 2026, describes no way for an employer to claim SSP back from HMRC.

## Notice, fit notes and records

- You can set your own time limit for an employee to tell you they are sick. If you set none, it is 7 days. You cannot insist they tell you in person or on a special form.
- You do not have to pay SSP for days the employee was late in telling you, unless there was a good reason for the delay.
- You can ask for a fit note only after more than 7 days off in a row, counting non-working days. You cannot hold back SSP because the fit note is late.
- Spells of sickness 8 weeks or less apart are linked and treated as one. The rate worked out at the start of the first spell carries through.
- If an employee does not qualify, you must send them form SSP1 within 7 days of their first day off sick.

## What to do this week

1. Check that your payroll software is using the rules for 2026 to 2027: payment from day one, no earnings test, and the 80% calculation.
2. Write your reporting rule into your contracts or staff handbook. For example: a phone call or message before the normal start time on the first day.
3. List who is an employee and who is a subcontractor, and check the second list is right.
4. Record every sick day, including single days. HMRC may ask to see the records if there is a dispute.

Sick pay was not the only rule that changed in April 2026. Our guide to [Making Tax Digital for sole-trader trades](https://aeolookup.com/trades/making-tax-digital-income-tax-tradesperson/) covers the one that affects sole traders' own tax.

This is general information, not employment law or payroll advice. Check a real case with your accountant, your payroll provider or Acas.

## Short answers from this page

**Do I have to pay statutory sick pay from the first day an employee is off sick?** Yes. Since 6 April 2026 statutory sick pay starts on the first full day off sick, and there is no minimum earnings test. The rate to 5 April 2027 is £123.25 a week, or 80% of average weekly earnings if that is lower. On a five-day week that is £24.65 a day, so a three-day absence costs the firm £73.95.

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