How much is Statutory Sick Pay?
Statutory Sick Pay is worth up to £123.25 a week — but exactly how much you get depends on your pay. You receive the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of your average weekly earnings, paid for each qualifying day you are off sick, starting from the very first full day of sickness.
How much is SSP per week?
There are two possible weekly amounts, and you always get the lower one. Earn £500.00 a week and 80% of your earnings is £400.00 — well above the flat rate, so your SSP is £123.25 a week. Earn £100.00 a week and 80% of your earnings is £80.00 — below the flat rate, so your SSP is £80.00 a week. In short: higher earners are capped at the flat rate; lower earners receive four-fifths of their normal weekly pay. The SSP rate guide explains where the switch-over happens.
How much is SSP per day?
SSP is worked out as a weekly amount but paid by the day. The daily rate is the weekly amount divided by your qualifying days — the days of the week you normally work. At the full flat rate, the daily amounts look like this:
| Qualifying days per week | Daily SSP at the flat rate |
|---|---|
| 1 day a week | £123.25 |
| 2 days a week | £61.63 |
| 3 days a week | £41.09 |
| 4 days a week | £30.82 |
| 5 days a week | £24.65 |
| 6 days a week | £20.55 |
| 7 days a week | £17.61 |
If your weekly amount is the 80%-of-earnings figure rather than the flat rate, divide that amount by your qualifying days instead — the method is identical.
How much will I get for a week off sick?
For a full Monday-to-Friday week off, a higher earner on £600.00 a week receives £123.25: 80% of £600.00 is £480.00, so the lower figure is the flat rate, and five days at the daily rate of £24.65 comes back to £123.25. A lower earner on £120.00 a week working four qualifying days receives less: 80% of £120.00 is £96.00 a week, a daily rate of £24.00, so three days off in that week pays £72.00.
How much is SSP if I work part-time?
Part-time staff are treated by the same rules. Your weekly amount is still the lower of £123.25 or 80% of your own average weekly earnings, and your daily rate is that amount divided by your own qualifying days. Someone earning £150.00 a week over three qualifying days gets a weekly amount of £120.00 (80% of £150.00) and a daily rate of £40.00 — paid only for the days they would normally have worked. There is no minimum-earnings hurdle to clear first: the lower earnings limit no longer applies. See how much SSP is per week for a full table of earnings and weekly amounts.
How long is SSP paid at this rate?
The weekly amount stays the same throughout a sickness spell, and SSP can be paid for up to 28 weeks in one period. Spells separated by eight weeks or less are linked and share the same 28-week limit. After the entitlement is used up, SSP stops — at that point the employer should provide form SSP1 so the employee can claim other support.
SSP rates at a glance
| Rule | Amount |
|---|---|
| SSP flat weekly rate (the maximum) | £123.25 per week |
| SSP alternative weekly amount | 80% of average weekly earnings — you get whichever of the two is lower |
| Paid from | The first full day of sickness — no waiting days |
| Lower earnings limit | None — there is no minimum earnings threshold |
| Maximum entitlement | 28 weeks in one (linked) period of sickness |
Rates: April 2026 rules — verified against GOV.UK. Last verified: 7 November 2026.
Work out your own SSP
Enter the employee's average weekly earnings and the days they normally work, and the free SSP calculator shows the weekly rate, the daily rate and the total payable — with the working shown.
Open the SSP calculator →More SSP guides
What is Statutory Sick Pay?
What SSP is, who pays it, who qualifies and how long it lasts — the plain-English starting point for UK sick pay.
Read the guide →SSP Rate
The current SSP rate, why your pay might be less than the headline figure, and when the rate changes.
Read the guide →How much is SSP per week?
Weekly SSP at different pay levels — a table of earnings and the weekly amount each one produces, for full-time and part-time workers.
Read the guide →How is SSP calculated?
The three-step calculation — weekly amount, daily rate, days payable — walked through step by step with worked examples.
Read the guide →Frequently asked questions
How much SSP do I get for one day off sick?
One day's SSP is the daily rate: your weekly SSP amount divided by the number of qualifying days in your working week. A Monday-to-Friday worker on the full flat rate gets £123.25 ÷ 5 = £24.65 for one day. Part-time workers divide by their own qualifying days, so their daily rate is higher but paid on fewer days.
How much is SSP after tax?
The £123.25 weekly figure is before tax. SSP is paid through payroll and taxed like ordinary wages, along with National Insurance, so the amount that lands in your bank account depends on your tax code and your total pay in that period — many people on SSP alone fall below the tax thresholds and have nothing deducted.
Is SSP paid every week?
SSP is paid through the normal payroll, on your usual payday — weekly-paid staff receive it weekly, monthly-paid staff receive it in their monthly pay. The amount in each payment covers the qualifying days of sickness that fall in that pay period.
How much SSP does a weekend worker get?
The same weekly amount as anyone else on the same earnings — the weekly figure does not depend on which days you work. What changes is the daily rate: a Saturday-and-Sunday worker has two qualifying days, so the weekly amount is divided by two and paid for each weekend day of sickness.
Can my employer pay more than SSP?
Yes. Many employers run a company sick pay scheme that tops SSP up — sometimes to full pay for a period. That is a contractual extra on top of the statutory minimum; the employer can always be more generous than SSP, but never less.