If you employ people in the UK, three statutory payments sit at the heart of your legal obligations when staff are absent through illness or taking time off for a new child. Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, and Statutory Paternity Pay are not optional benefits you can choose to offer or withhold. They are legal minimums that every eligible employee is entitled to, and the rules governing each one changed significantly from April 2026. This guide explains what each payment is, who qualifies, how much you must pay, how to reclaim most of it from HMRC, and what the April 2026 reforms mean for your payroll and policies.
Statutory Sick Pay
What is Statutory Sick Pay?
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the minimum amount an employer must pay to an eligible employee who is off work due to sickness. It is paid by the employer through payroll in the same way as wages and is subject to income tax and National Insurance.
The April 2026 reforms: what changed
From 6 April 2026, significant changes were made to Statutory Sick Pay.
SSP is now payable from the first full day of sickness absence, meaning the previous three waiting days have been removed. The lower earnings threshold has also been removed, so eligible employees can qualify for SSP regardless of how much they earn.
In addition, the SSP rate is now calculated as the lower of 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings or the statutory weekly rate. For 2026/27, the statutory weekly rate is £123.25.
Before 6 April 2026, employees generally had to be off sick for three qualifying days before SSP became payable, and they had to earn at least £125 per week to qualify. From 6 April 2026, SSP can be payable from the first full day of sickness absence, and lower-paid employees who were previously excluded may now qualify.
Current rates and key figures
The weekly rate of Statutory Sick Pay for 2026/27 is £123.25 or 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. The previous rate for 2025/26 was £118.75.
Average weekly earnings are generally calculated using earnings over an eight-week period, although specific rules apply depending on the employee’s pay pattern, including monthly-paid employees, new starters, and employees with irregular pay.
For employees with average weekly earnings of approximately £154.06 or more, the flat weekly rate of £123.25 will apply. For employees earning below this level, SSP will be calculated as 80% of their average weekly earnings.
SSP is paid only for qualifying days, which are the days the employee would normally work. The daily rate depends on the employee’s SSP entitlement and the number of qualifying days in the week. For an employee working a standard five-day week, the daily rate is £24.65, where the full weekly rate of £123.25 applies.
SSP can be paid for up to 28 weeks in any one period of incapacity for work. After SSP ends, the employee may be able to claim new-style Employment and Support Allowance from the DWP.
Linked periods of sickness
Two periods of sickness are linked if they are separated by eight weeks or less. Where periods are linked, they are treated as a single period for the purposes of calculating SSP entitlement, even though each remains a separate period of incapacity for work. The same average weekly earnings figure used for the first period applies to all linked periods, and linked periods share the 28-week maximum.
Who qualifies for SSP?
From 6 April 2026, an employee qualifies for Statutory Sick Pay if they are classed as an employee, have done some work for the employer under their contract, and have been off sick for at least one full working day. They must also be classed as employed for tax purposes, meaning their tax is paid through PAYE. Self-employed workers and those who pay their own tax through Self-Assessment do not qualify.
SSP is generally not payable during a period when Statutory Maternity Pay is being paid. However, SSP may be payable before or after the maternity pay period, depending on the timing of the sickness absence and whether the normal SSP conditions are met.
Employees must also notify you of their illness by the deadline you set or within 7 days.
Fit notes and evidence
Employees can self-certify for the first seven days of sickness. From day eight onwards, you can require a fit note from a GP, pharmacist, or other authorised healthcare professional.
Can you reclaim SSP from HMRC?
You cannot recover Statutory Sick Pay. SSP is entirely an employer cost. There is no government rebate available.
Payroll implications of the April 2026 changes
Your payroll system must now trigger SSP from the first qualifying day of absence rather than day four. Any logic that blocked SSP for the first three days must be removed. The earnings filter that excluded employees below the lower earnings limit must also be removed. The system must calculate the dual test by comparing £123.25 against 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings and paying the lower amount. For employees on variable or zero-hours contracts, average weekly earnings calculations will vary, so confirm your payroll software handles non-standard work patterns correctly.
Any sickness absence policies that reference waiting days, earnings thresholds, or the previous SSP rules are now incorrect and must be updated.
Statutory Maternity Pay
What is Statutory Maternity Pay?
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is the minimum amount you must pay an eligible employee during maternity leave. You pay it as the employer through payroll, subject to income tax and National Insurance, and you then reclaim most of it from HMRC.
The difference between maternity leave and maternity pay
These are two separate entitlements, and it is important to understand the difference between them.
Statutory Maternity Leave is the time off work to which an employee is entitled. All female employees are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave from day one of employment, regardless of how long they have worked for you or how much they earn. This is divided into 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave.
Statutory Maternity Pay is the money paid during that leave. Not all employees on maternity leave qualify for SMP. Those who do not qualify may be entitled to Maternity Allowance from the DWP(The Department for Work and Pensions) instead.
Who qualifies for SMP?
To qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, the employee must meet all of the following conditions:
- She must have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks continuing into the qualifying week. The qualifying week is the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.
- She must be on your payroll in the qualifying week.
- Her average weekly earnings must be at least £129 per week for 2026/27, calculated over the relevant eight-week period.
- She must give at least 28 days’ notice of when she wants her SMP to start, or as much notice as reasonably practicable.
- She must provide proof of pregnancy, usually a MATB1 certificate from her midwife or GP, showing the expected week of childbirth.
How much SMP must you pay?
SMP runs for a maximum of 39 weeks. For the first six weeks, you pay 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings with no cap. For the remaining 33 weeks, you pay £194.32 per week or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
Weeks 40 to 52 of maternity leave are unpaid unless you offer enhanced contractual maternity pay above the statutory minimum.
SMP usually starts when maternity leave begins. Maternity leave and SMP can start as early as 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. If the employee has not already started maternity leave or SMP, it will normally start automatically from the day after the birth.
Keeping in Touch days
An employee on maternity leave can work up to 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) days without losing their SMP for that week. KIT days can be used for training, meetings, handovers, or any agreed work activity. Pay for KIT days is agreed between you and the employee. The employee may lose SMP for any week in which she works after the 10 KIT day limit has been exceeded.
What if the employee does not return to work?
SMP is a statutory entitlement entirely independent of whether the employee returns to work after maternity leave. You cannot reclaim SMP from the employee if she resigns during or after leave, except in limited circumstances involving enhanced contractual maternity pay with a contractual return-to-work condition. Always take legal advice before attempting to recover any enhanced payments.
Reclaiming SMP from HMRC
You reclaim SMP by reducing your PAYE and National Insurance payments to HMRC through the Employer Payment Summary (EPS). You can recover 92% if your total Class 1 National Insurance is above £45,000 for the previous tax year, or 109% if your total Class 1 National Insurance for the previous tax year is £45,000 or lower.
The 109% rate applies to small employers qualifying for Small Employers’ Relief. This means you reclaim 100% of the statutory payments made plus an additional 9% compensation, so you effectively receive more back than you paid out. To check whether you qualify, calculate your total Class 1 NI liability for the previous complete tax year before the employee’s qualifying week using your P32.
If you are unable to fund SMP upfront, you can apply to HMRC for advance funding.
What if the employee does not qualify?
If an employee does not meet the qualifying conditions for Statutory Maternity Pay, the employer must issue form SMP1 explaining why SMP cannot be paid. The form should be given within 7 days of the decision. The employee may then be able to apply to the DWP for Maternity Allowance.
Maternity Allowance can be paid for up to 39 weeks. It may be available to someone who does not qualify for SMP but who has been employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the baby is due, subject to the relevant earnings conditions.
Maternity leave: returning to work and employment protection
After Ordinary Maternity Leave, which is the first 26 weeks of maternity leave, the employee usually has the right to return to the same job on the same terms and conditions.
After Additional Maternity Leave, which covers weeks 27 to 52, the employee usually has the right to return to the same job. However, if this is not reasonably practicable, she must be offered a suitable alternative job on terms and conditions that are no less favourable.
Selecting an employee for redundancy because she is pregnant or on maternity leave would be unlawful and could amount to automatic unfair dismissal and pregnancy or maternity discrimination. Employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave also have enhanced redundancy protection. Where a suitable alternative vacancy is available, it must be offered to them in priority to other employees.
Statutory Paternity Pay
What is Statutory Paternity Pay?
Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is the minimum amount you must pay an eligible employee who takes paternity leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Like SMP, it is paid through your payroll and reclaimed from HMRC.
The April 2026 reform: paternity leave is now a day-one right
From 6 April 2026, statutory paternity leave became a day-one right. This means employees can be eligible to take paternity leave from the first day of employment, removing the previous 26-week service requirement for the leave entitlement.
It is important to distinguish between the right to take paternity leave and the right to receive Statutory Paternity Pay. Although paternity leave is now a day-one right, Statutory Paternity Pay is still subject to separate qualifying conditions, including service and earnings requirements.
Therefore, an employee may be entitled to take paternity leave but may not qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay during that absence if the pay conditions are not met.
Who qualifies for SPP?
For the leave entitlement, an employee qualifies from the first day of employment for children born or placed for adoption on or after 6 April 2026.
For the pay entitlement, the employee must still meet the separate Statutory Paternity Pay conditions. This includes having average weekly earnings of at least £129 per week for 2026/27 during the relevant reference period, and being continuously employed by the employer for at least 26 weeks up to the qualifying week.
The employee must also be the biological father of the child, the mother’s husband or civil partner, or a person who lives with the mother and child in an enduring family relationship.
Notice requirements remain in place. The employee must give you at least 15 weeks’ notice before the expected week of childbirth, specifying the due date and when they intend to start leave, subject to transitional rules for births around April to July 2026, with a further 28 days’ notice of the specific start date where required.
Reclaiming SPP from HMRC
The weekly SPP rate is £194.32 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
SPP covers up to two weeks of paternity leave. Leave can be taken as a single block of two weeks or as two separate blocks of one week each within 52 weeks of the birth or adoption placement.
Keeping in Touch days
An employee on maternity leave can work up to 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) days without losing their SMP for that week. KIT days can be used for training, meetings, handovers, or any agreed work activity. Pay for KIT days is agreed between you and the employee. The employee may lose SMP for any week in which she works after the 10 KIT day limit has been exceeded.
What if the employee does not return to work?
The same reclaim rules apply as for SMP. You can recover 92% if your total Class 1 National Insurance is above £45,000 for the previous tax year, or 109% if your total Class 1 National Insurance for the previous tax year is £45,000 or lower. The reclaim is made through the Employer Payment Summary in the same way as SMP.
Other statutory family payments to be aware of
Shared Parental Pay
Where a mother returns to work before the end of her 52-week maternity leave period, the remaining leave and pay can be shared with her partner as Shared Parental Leave. Shared Parental Pay is paid at £194.32 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for up to 37 weeks. The same reclaim rules apply.
Statutory Adoption Pay
Statutory Adoption Pay follows the same payment structure as SMP, though the eligibility and notice requirements are not identical in every respect. The primary adopter receives 90% of average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the remaining weeks. Reclaim rules and employer obligations broadly mirror those for SMP, but employers should check the specific eligibility and notification requirements for adoption pay separately.
Neonatal Care Pay
Parents whose baby requires neonatal care after birth have an additional entitlement to Neonatal Care Leave and Pay. This is a separate entitlement on top of, not instead of, maternity and paternity leave. The weekly Neonatal Care Pay rate is £194.32 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
Common mistakes to avoid
Paying SSP under the old rules is the most immediate risk. Any payroll system that still applies a three-day wait period or excludes employees below an earnings threshold is non-compliant as of 6 April 2026 and must be corrected.
Paying SPP to an employee who has not met the earnings or service qualifying conditions for pay, even though they are entitled to the leave, creates an overpayment that cannot be reclaimed from HMRC and is difficult to recover from the employee.
Missing the EPS reclaim on each payroll run is a costly and avoidable error. Reclaim SMP and SPP through the Employer Payment Summary at the time of each payment run, not retrospectively at the end of the leave period.
Reclaiming 92% when you qualify for 109% is a common oversight among small employers. If your total Class 1 NI liability was £45,000 or lower in the previous tax year, check with your payroll provider that the correct Small Employers’ Relief rate is being applied.
Leaving sickness absence policies unreformed after April 2026 creates a mismatch between the written policy and the legal obligation. Policies referencing waiting days, earnings thresholds, or any previous SSP rules should have been updated by April 2026 and any that have not must be corrected now.
This guide provides general information on statutory payments and is not a substitute for professional advice. Rates, thresholds, and qualifying conditions are subject to change, and employers should verify current figures with HMRC or a qualified payroll or employment law adviser before making compliance decisions.
Conclusion
Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, and Statutory Paternity Pay are legal minimums, not discretionary benefits. The April 2026 reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 and accompanying regulations have significantly expanded the reach of SSP, bringing more workers into eligibility and removing the three waiting days that previously cushioned employer costs on short absences. For SMP and SPP, the rate increases to £194.32 per week, the increase in Small Employers’ Relief from 103% to 109%, and the day-one paternity leave rights are the most immediate changes to manage.
The distinction between leave as a day-one right and pay as a qualified entitlement is one of the most important points to embed in your HR and payroll processes. Getting it wrong in either direction, refusing leave you are obliged to give or paying SPP to someone who has not met the earnings and service conditions, creates legal and financial risk.
Getting your payroll software, absence policies, and reclaim processes right is not complicated, but it requires active attention. An employer who pays correctly, reclaims efficiently at the correct rate, and keeps policies up to date carries a manageable net cost and a defensible compliance position. One who does not can face tribunal claims, penalties, and unnecessary expense.
