Statutory Sick Pay Entitlement
Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, all employees are entitled to be paid Statutory Sick Pay when absent from work on sick leave from the first day of their absence. There are exceptions, and these include:
- New employees who have not done any work under the contract of employment.
- Pregnant employees.
- Employees who go off sick within 57 days of having previously received social security benefits.
- Prisoners.
- Employees on strike.
Statutory Sick Pay is payable for the first 28 weeks of absence in any period of sick leave entitlement.*
"Period of entitlement" will be either when the contract of employment ends, when the period of incapacity ends, or when the employee reaches their maximum entitlement to SSP, whichever occurs first. Otherwise, the period of entitlement ends after three years.
After 28 weeks, the DWP will usually pay Incapacity Benefit.
* The employer makes the payment on behalf of the government. The employer is entitled to claim a contribution towards the payment, which is deducted from the monthly Class 1 NICs (National Insurance Contributions) paid by the employer; this is called the Employment Allowance. To be eligible, an employee must be employed, under the age of 65 and have earnings of at least the lower earnings limit of £129 per week.