Off sick with flu this winter? You are now paid from your first day
The three unpaid waiting days are gone. You do not need a week off or a doctor's note to claim SSP. Here is what a missed shift pays and how to challenge a refusal.
Too ill to work the till, finish a care round or cover tonight’s kitchen shift? You no longer have to lose three days’ sick pay before help starts. Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay can cover your first full sick working day. Report the absence now and keep the message. An old handbook is no excuse for withholding pay you are owed.
- £123.25
- weekly maximum, 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027
- Day one
- first full sick qualifying day paid
- No floor
- no minimum earnings since 6 April 2026
- 7 days
- self-certify; fit note after seven calendar days
The first three days are no longer unpaid
The old rule left the first three qualifying days unpaid. A new, unlinked Monday-to-Wednesday absence could therefore pay nothing. For absences starting on or after 6 April 2026, SSP is payable from the first full sick qualifying day. The old £125-a-week earnings floor has also gone. You must be an employee, or treated as one for SSP purposes, and have done some work under your contract. There is no minimum service requirement. The eligibility rules still apply.
You do not need confirmed flu to claim. The question is whether illness makes you unable to work. Nor do you have to stay off for several days to qualify. One full sick working day can be enough.
What a short bout of flu actually pays
From 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, your weekly SSP is £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. The maximum payment period is 28 weeks. At average earnings of £154.05, 80% is £123.24. At £154.10, 80% is £123.28, so you get the £123.25 cap. You do not get your normal wages unless your employer’s sick-pay scheme provides them.
Average weekly earnings normally use the pay subject to Class 1 National Insurance, or which would be subject to it if earnings were high enough, over a period of at least eight weeks ending on your last normal payday before sickness. Monthly payroll uses complete pay periods, not simply your last month’s wages divided by four. New starters use the pay period available; if you have not been paid yet, contractual earnings are used. HMRC explains the calculation. Ask payroll which paydays and earnings it used.
SSP is paid for qualifying days, usually the days you normally work. Divide your weekly SSP by the number of qualifying days in that week, then multiply by the qualifying days you were off sick. A Saturday you never work usually adds nothing. If your rota changes, ask payroll which qualifying days it has used. HMRC has rules for cases where you cannot agree them. A day you worked any part of does not count as a sick day.
| Average weekly earnings | Qualifying days each week | Full sick qualifying days | SSP due |
|---|---|---|---|
| £300 | 5 | 1 | £24.65 |
| £300 | 5 | 3 | £73.95 |
| £300 | 5 | 5 | £123.25 |
| £120 | 2 | 2 | £96 |
| £145 | 4 | 2 | £58 |
| £80 | 1 | 1 | £64 |
These figures apply from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. They assume you qualify, have not exhausted SSP and did not work any part of the sick days. For other working patterns, use the SSP calculator and check payroll’s result against HMRC’s rates table. If division produces fractions of a penny, ask payroll to show how it rounded the payment.
Example: Priya misses three supermarket shifts
Priya averages £300 a week and works Monday to Friday. Eighty per cent of £300 is £240, so her weekly SSP is capped at £123.25. Divide by five qualifying days to get £24.65 a day. If she is off for all of Monday to Wednesday, she is owed £73.95. Under the old rules, those three days would have paid £0 for a new, unlinked absence. No waiting days now.
Example: Ruth earns below the old threshold
Ruth works two cleaning days at £60 a day. Her average weekly earnings are £120. Eighty per cent is £96, below the cap. Each qualifying day pays £48, so missing both days means £96 SSP. In 2025/26, £120 was below the £125 earnings threshold and she would have received nothing. Low pay no longer excludes her.
Example: Ibrahim misses two care shifts
Ibrahim averages £145 a week across four qualifying days. Eighty per cent is £116. Divide by four to get £29 a day. Two full sick qualifying days pay £58. Giving him the flat £123.25 weekly rate would be wrong, even though that is the headline figure.
Who gets it, and who still does not
Covered for SSP
- Employees who meet the qualifying conditions.
- Some workers treated as employees for SSP.
- Part-time and zero-hours staff can qualify.
- Agency workers can qualify as employed earners.
Outside SSP
- Genuinely self-employed people.
- Workers not treated as employees for SSP.
- People who have exhausted their entitlement.
- Other exclusions, including Statutory Maternity Pay.
“You are only a worker” is not a complete answer. SSP uses its own rules. HMRC says all employees and some groups of workers can qualify. Agency workers supplied to work under a client’s supervision, direction and control can be employed earners for SSP even without an employment contract. Start with whoever pays your wages. Do not accept the label “casual” as proof that you have no entitlement.
There is no minimum service requirement, but short contracts and agency assignments can affect how long payment continues. For a warehouse picker whose assignment is ending, that matters. Ask the agency or employer for its written reason if it says SSP stops with the assignment. The full SSP guide covers longer absences.
Genuinely self-employed people do not get SSP. If an employer says you do not qualify, it must give you form SSP1 within seven days of your first sick day. Check Universal Credit or new-style Employment and Support Allowance, subject to their own conditions. SSP is also unavailable once you have received the maximum 28 weeks, while you receive Statutory Maternity Pay, or if you received ESA in the previous 85 days.
If you have two separate jobs, you may qualify for SSP from each employer. Entitlement is assessed for the work you cannot do. Different rules apply where earnings from associated employers are combined for National Insurance. Tell each employer whose work you cannot do; do not assume one SSP payment rules out another.
The core SSP reform and rate apply in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. nidirect and the Labour Relations Agency confirm the Northern Ireland change. Tribunal procedures differ. Do not use a Great Britain claim deadline for a Northern Ireland case.
Seven days with no doctor’s note
You do not need a doctor’s note for seven days of flu. Self-certify for the first seven calendar days, including weekends and bank holidays. Follow your employer’s self-certification procedure, whether that means a form or an email. If you remain ill for more than seven days in a row, you need a fit note. A GP, hospital doctor, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist can issue one after assessing you.
A company policy cannot undercut the floor
Company sick pay is whatever the contract adds above the statute. It can be full pay, half pay, or nothing until you have a year’s service. It cannot be less than SSP. SSP counts towards the contractual amount. You do not get it stacked on top of full wages.
“The first three days are unpaid” is lawful only as a description of company sick pay, with SSP still paid for those days. It is not a substitute for the statute. A 2024 handbook does not outrank it. If company pay starts on day four, days one to three must still be at least SSP. Ask for the clause, then compare it with the payslip.
The payslip still shows three unpaid days
Withholding SSP you are owed is an unlawful deduction. nidirect says so, and the same principle applies in Great Britain. We call that wage theft.
- Keep the evidence. Save the rota, sickness report, payslip and sick-pay policy. Record which sick shifts you did not start. For agency work, keep the assignment dates and the name of the organisation paying you.
- Check the missing amount. Use the lower of £123.25 and 80% of average weekly earnings, divided by that week’s qualifying days, then multiplied by the full sick qualifying days. Ask payroll to explain a different result.
- Ask for correction in writing. State the absence dates and the pay missing. Ask for the earnings figure, qualifying days and SSP calculation. If the employer says you do not qualify, ask for written reasons and form SSP1.
- Refer the SSP dispute to HMRC. If the employer will not correct it, ask HMRC to decide your entitlement. The GOV.UK SSP eligibility page explains the route when you disagree with a decision. Send your records, including the refusal.
- Get support and protect the tribunal deadline. Contact your union rep, Acas in Great Britain, or the Labour Relations Agency in Northern Ireland. Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland, Advice NI and law centres can help. Do not wait for payroll or HMRC to finish before seeking advice about a claim.
Ask your union rep to check the calculation with you. USDAW organises retail staff; UNISON covers many care and NHS support jobs; GMB and Unite organise across logistics, security, food and hospitality. Our union guide can help you find one for your job. If your visa depends on this employer, get advice before resigning.
Which deadline applies?
For Great Britain unlawful-deduction claims, the normal limit is six months minus one day where the relevant payday falls on or after 1 October 2026. For a series of deductions, the relevant date is the last deduction in the series. Earlier relevant dates keep the three-month limit. This is the transition rule in SI 2026/954, not a blanket extension of every old claim.
For example, a single deduction on 30 October 2026 normally gives a deadline of 29 April 2027, before any early-conciliation adjustment. You usually must notify Acas for early conciliation before claiming, and doing so in time pauses the clock. A grievance or HMRC dispute does not. Ask an adviser to calculate your deadline, especially for repeated deductions or any separate contract claim. In Northern Ireland, ask the Labour Relations Agency about the industrial tribunal route.
What about the Fair Work Agency?
The Fair Work Agency launched on 7 April 2026. Its published enforcement statement covers minimum wage enforcement, agency standards, gangmasters licensing and serious labour exploitation. It does not establish a general SSP enforcement service. If your complaint also concerns agency misconduct or exploitation, ask your adviser about reporting that. For the SSP entitlement decision, use HMRC. Do not assume the new agency will collect this week’s sick pay for you.
Too ill to work? Do not give up holiday to cover it
Employees can take time off when they are ill. If you qualify for SSP, the employer owes it even if a supervisor would prefer you to come in. Pressure to attend is not itself a deduction from wages, but withholding SSP you are owed is. Report that you are unfit to work before the shift and keep the response.
Holiday is yours to choose
Statutory holiday continues to build up while you are sick. You can ask to take paid holiday during sick leave, but your employer cannot force you to use it when you are eligible for sick leave. Ill just before or during booked holiday? Report it and ask to treat the days as sick leave instead. Holiday you could not use because of illness can carry over, subject to the applicable limits. Our holiday pay guide covers those rules. Do not let payroll quietly turn sick shifts into annual leave.
Flu last month, flu again
Sick spells separated by no more than eight weeks, or 56 days, are linked. SSP paid for them counts towards the same 28-week maximum. A continuous series of linked periods lasting more than three years ends entitlement. HMRC says the earnings-based rate is set at the first spell and does not change merely because your earnings change during the linked period. Tell payroll about the earlier absence so it can check your remaining entitlement.
An absence that began before 6 April 2026 needs the transitional rules. In particular, eligible employees already receiving SSP with average weekly earnings between £125 and £154.05 retain the flat rate rather than dropping to 80% while the protected absence continues, until they return to work or entitlement ends. The examples above concern new absences under the post-April rules.
What is in force, and what is still scheduled?
- Day-one SSP is in force
Waiting days and the earnings floor are gone. The weekly rate is £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
- Longer Great Britain tribunal limits are in force
The normal unlawful-deduction limit is six months minus one day where the relevant date is on or after this date. Earlier claims remain subject to the transition rules.
- Shorter unfair-dismissal qualifying period is scheduled
The Great Britain qualifying period is due to fall from two years to six months for dismissals with an effective termination date on or after this date. It is not yet in force.
If your employer threatens a warning, corrects the missing pay but cuts your shifts, or calls a disciplinary meeting while you are ill, keep the messages and rotas. Read our guides to sickness absence warnings and discipline during sick leave. Ask your rep or adviser to look at the treatment as well as the missing pay.
Questions people ask
Is the first day of sick leave paid now?
If you qualify for SSP, yes. For an absence starting on or after 6 April 2026, payment starts on the first full sick qualifying day. You must have done some work under the contract, but there is no minimum service or earnings requirement. A day partly worked does not count.
Do you get paid for the first three days off sick?
Yes, where they are full sick qualifying days and you meet the other SSP conditions. The three waiting days have gone. You receive the statutory rate, not necessarily your normal wages. A company policy cannot remove SSP you are owed.
How much SSP do three days of flu pay?
At the £123.25 weekly cap, three qualifying days in a five-day working week pay £73.95. If 80% of average weekly earnings is lower than the cap, use that lower rate instead. Count the days you normally work, not every calendar day you feel ill.
What if you earn under £125 a week or work zero hours?
The old earnings floor no longer applies. In the cleaner example, £120 average weekly earnings produces £96 SSP for a full sick week. Zero-hours and agency staff can qualify, but SSP status and the contract or assignment dates matter. Ask for written reasons rather than accepting “casuals are not covered”.
Your policy still says three unpaid days. What should you do?
Ask payroll to correct the SSP and show its calculation. The policy may delay extra company sick pay, but not your statutory entitlement. If the employer refuses, ask HMRC to decide. Seek advice about tribunal deadlines in parallel; waiting for payroll does not stop the clock.
Do you need a doctor’s note for a week of flu?
No. Self-certify for seven calendar days, including weekends and bank holidays, and report the absence on time. If you remain ill for more than seven days in a row, you need a fit note. Several registered healthcare professionals can issue one, not only your GP.
Sources
- Statutory Sick Pay: what you’ll get, GOV.UK
- Statutory Sick Pay: eligibility and disagreements, GOV.UK
- Taking sick leave: proof of sickness and holiday, GOV.UK
- Statutory Sick Pay: entitlement and qualifying days, GOV.UK
- Work out your employee’s Statutory Sick Pay manually, HMRC
- Sickness absences spanning 6 April 2026, GOV.UK
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, HMRC
- How different employment types affect Statutory Sick Pay, HMRC
- Millions of workers get new access to sick pay and parental leave, Department for Business and Trade, 7 April 2026
- Fair Work Agency enforcement statement, GOV.UK, updated 26 August 2026
- Employment Rights Act 2025: tribunal time-limit commencement and transition rules, SI 2026/954
- Employment Rights Act 2025: unfair-dismissal commencement and transition rules, SI 2026/559
- Sick pay rights, nidirect
- Statutory Sick Pay changes 2026, Labour Relations Agency
- Women more than twice as likely as men to miss out on Statutory Sick Pay, TUC, 18 January 2024. Historical Labour Force Survey analysis used in the first reality check.
- Tribunal statistics quarterly, July to September 2025, Ministry of Justice. Open single-claim caseload used in the second reality check.