Statutory Sick Pay – Current position
Statutory Sick Pay is a mandatory requirement which entitles employees on sickness absence to £118.75 per week for up to 28 weeks.
There are a number of requirements to qualify a worker for Statutory Sick Pay. These include being classed as an employee, having done some work for their employer, earning an average of at least £125 per week, and having been ill for more than 3 days in a row.
Reform
In April 2026: Through its proposals in the Employment Rights Act (‘ERA 2025’), the Government has set out that it will widen the eligibility for statutory sick pay to up to 1.3 million employees who are not currently entitled to receive it. This is because the ERA 2025 will remove the lower earnings limit so that all employees will now qualify for statutory sick pay. The rate at which sick pay will be calculated will be the lower of 80% of their average weekly earnings or a flat rate of £118.75 per week.
Rather than having to wait until their 4th day of being sick before receiving statutory sick pay, employees will now be entitled to sick pay from the first day of sickness absence.
What does this mean?
These changes will assist those employees who earn the least to continue supporting themselves when they need to take time off due to sickness.
Those employees who previously earned just enough to qualify for statutory sick pay will face a reduction in their current allowance where 80% of their average weekly earnings is less than the flat rate to which they were previously entitled. However, this is expected to be offset by the provision of sick pay from the first day of sickness absence so that no employee is worse-off overall.
The increase in sick pay will create an additional financial burden for employers. Those who offer enhanced sick pay may wish to review their policies and whether, as currently drafted, they would entitle employees to enhanced sick pay from day 1 of their sickness absence as soon as April 2026.
If you would like to discuss anything related to ERA 2025 please contact a member of the Employment team.
To find out what other aspects of employment law are affected by the ERA 2025, read our blog “The Employment Rights Act – When to expect change”.
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