Statutory Sick Pay: £123.25 a week, 28 weeks and seven days before a fit note

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the legal minimum sick pay, and it comes from your employer rather than the state. The rate is up to £123.25 a week, paid for a maximum of 28 weeks.

How much is Statutory Sick Pay?

£123.25 a week, or 80% of your normal weekly earnings — whichever is lower. Your employer cannot pay less than the statutory amount. They can pay more if the company runs its own sick pay scheme (an occupational scheme), and the terms of that scheme are in your employment contract.

SSP covers every full day of sickness you would normally have worked. Your employer works out the amount from your average weekly earnings over an eight-week period. If you started the job recently and have not yet had eight weeks of pay, you still qualify — ask your employer how they will calculate it.

How and when is SSP paid?

In the same way as your normal wages, on the same schedule — weekly or monthly. Tax and National Insurance are deducted from SSP just as they are from ordinary pay.

If you have more than one job, you may receive SSP from each employer separately.

Who is eligible?

Three conditions apply at once: you must be classed as an employee, you must have done some work for that employer, and you must have been ill for at least one full working day. Agency workers may also be entitled to SSP.

You will not qualify in two cases: you have already received the maximum 28 weeks, or you are getting Statutory Maternity Pay.

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What are linked periods of sickness?

If you are off sick regularly, separate spells may count as linked. They are linked when each period lasted more than one full working day and the gap between them is eight weeks or less.

This matters: once a continuous series of linked periods runs for more than three years, you are no longer eligible for SSP.

When do you need a fit note, and who can issue one?

A fit note (still widely called a sick note) is required if you are off work for more than seven days in a row, including non-working days.

It does not have to come from a doctor. The list is wider than most people assume: a GP or hospital doctor, a registered nurse, an occupational therapist, a pharmacist or a physiotherapist. Printed and digital notes are equally valid.

If your employer agrees, you can provide other evidence instead — for example an Allied Health Professional Health and Work Report from a physiotherapist or occupational therapist.

How do you tell your employer without losing money?

Tell your employer before the deadline they set. If they have not set one, the deadline is seven days. Being late has a real price: you could lose some of your SSP if you do not tell them in time.

Check how your employer wants to be told. If they need something in writing, form SC2 is the standard option.

What if your employer refuses to pay?

Start by talking to your employer and asking for the reason behind the decision or the calculation. If that does not resolve it, contact HMRC — disputes over statutory payments go to the Statutory Payment Disputes Team.

Agricultural workers are covered by separate rules under Agricultural Sick Pay.

ONLYWAY NEWS tracks payment rules in the United Kingdom and explains procedures from GOV.UK primary sources.