Sick pay, from day one.
From April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay starts on the first day off sick, at £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings if that's lower. Put in their pay and the days off; out comes what's due.
How it works.
The 2026/27 figures are from GOV.UK: Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 a week, or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings if that's lower, from the first day of illness. The Employment Rights Act 2025 removed the three waiting days and the lower earnings limit from 6 April 2026.
- Average weekly earnings are gross pay over the 8 weeks before the sickness, divided by 8. For monthly pay, it's the pay over the period times 12, divided by 52, divided by the number of months. The exact period runs between paydays; payroll software works it out from the payday dates.
- The daily rate is the weekly rate split across the days they normally work, their "qualifying days". GOV.UK's own tables do the same: £17.61 a day for someone who works 7 days.
- The limit is 28 weeks in one spell. Spells less than 8 weeks apart link into one, so count the days already paid in the earlier one.
- Agency workers can be entitled, paid by whoever runs their payroll. They need a fit note after 7 days off in a row, weekends included.
A guide, not legal advice. It applies the rules as written to the dates and figures you enter. Your own terms and the facts of a case can change the answer; if money or a dispute turns on it, check with an employment lawyer.
Rates as of 21 October 2026. Checked every April.
When the rules change.
Rates and thresholds move most Aprils. Leave your email and we'll tell you when this tool is updated. We won't use it for anything else, and you can ask us to delete it at hello@hikari-ai.co.uk.
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