New Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rules and regulations
23/4/2025
As part of the ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’, the Government has been consulting on some planned changes to how Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) works.
The key changes are to remove the 3-day waiting period and the removal of the lower earnings limit (LEL) threshold for SSP entitlement. This new legislation is likely to come into effect in April 2026 (to be confirmed) but acting now to ensure you take all the necessary steps is essential.
What do these changes means for you?
- Employees will receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from day one (the first day they are off work).
- No matter how few hours an employee works or what an employee earns, they will qualify for SSP.
- If you offer enhanced sick pay schemes alongside SSP you may need to reassess and amend your policies. The employee that takes every other Friday off will now be paid for it!
So, how should you prepare? Here are our key things to consider …
- Update your sickness policy so you are ready for the rules to come into effect
- Have a clear and detailed absence reporting procedure
- If you don’t already, start recording and monitoring your absence patterns and ensure your return-to-work procedures are up to the job.
- Ensure you establish clear trigger points in your absence management policy that automatically prompts formal review meetings when thresholds are reached (e.g. 3 sicknesses within a 6-month timeframe or 10 days total absence in a 12-month period)
- Ensure your managers are trained in how to handle absence management, capability concerns and conducting return-to-work interviews.
- Consider investing in an HR system such as BreatheHR to help you record and monitor absences and identify absence patterns.
If you need any help with the above or would like to know more about how BreatheHR could assist your business, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We can provide specialised training for your team, give advice on managing the new legislation or simply support you with your policies and procedures. Contact us today on [email protected] or visit our website www.keystonehr.co.uk for more information.