Statutory pay: sick pay, maternity and family leave

April 2026 brought the biggest reform to Statutory Sick Pay since 1983. Here is how SSP now works, plus the full family of statutory parental payments.

Statutory Sick Pay: reformed from April 2026

Two long-standing rules disappeared on 6 April 2026. SSP is now payable from the first day of sickness (the three waiting days are gone), and the lower earnings limit no longer applies, so every employee qualifies regardless of how little they earn. The rate is £123.25 a week or 80 percent of average weekly earnings if that is lower – the 80 percent rule is what brings low earners into the system without overpaying them.

SSP runs for up to 28 weeks and is paid for “qualifying days” – normally your usual working days. Employers cannot reclaim SSP from HMRC. Work out an absence with the sick pay calculator.

Statutory Maternity Pay

SMP runs for 39 weeks: the first 6 weeks at 90 percent of average weekly earnings with no cap, then 33 weeks at £194.32 (or 90 percent of AWE if lower). To qualify you need 26 weeks of continuous service by the 15th week before the due date and average earnings of at least £129 a week. The maternity pay calculator maps the full 39 weeks for any salary.

The rest of the family

• Statutory Paternity Pay – up to 2 weeks at £194.32 (or 90 percent of AWE if lower).
• Shared Parental Pay – up to 37 weeks of the same rate, shared between parents.
• Statutory Adoption Pay – mirrors SMP, including the 90 percent first six weeks.
• Neonatal Care Pay – up to 12 extra weeks where a baby needs neonatal care.
• Parental Bereavement Pay – 2 weeks following the death of a child.

For employers: family payments (not SSP) are reclaimable from HMRC – 92 percent for most employers, or 109 percent under Small Employers Relief if your total Class 1 NI was £45,000 or less last year. See running payroll as an employer.