SSP calculator with linked absences
Add every sickness absence for one employee. The calculator links periods 56 days or less apart, applies the rules in force on each day — waiting days and the £125 limit before 6 April 2026, day-one SSP and the 80% rate after — and stops at 28 weeks.
Rules checked 25 October 2026 against the sources at the foot of this page.
Gross pay over the 8 weeks before the first linked absence, divided into weeks. Leave blank if it is clearly over £154.07.
Sickness absences
Enter every absence, however short, including weekends and days off inside it. From 6 April 2026 even one day counts and can link to a later absence.
How the calculation works
- Days of incapacity. Every calendar day in an absence counts, including weekends and days the employee would not have worked.
- Periods of incapacity for work (PIWs). From 6 April 2026 any run of one or more days is a PIW. Before that date a run needed at least 4 consecutive days, so shorter absences earned nothing and did not link.
- Linking. PIWs separated by 56 days or less are one linked series — one period of entitlement with one 28-week maximum, at the rate set by the employee’s earnings before the first absence in the series.
- Qualifying days. The days the employee normally works. With no agreed working days, Wednesday is the qualifying day. You can treat bank holidays as non-qualifying if that is what you agreed.
- Waiting days. Only for series that began before 6 April 2026: the first 3 qualifying days were unpaid, once per series. Any waiting day falling on or after 6 April 2026 is paid.
- Weekly rate. £118.75 in 2025/26 (only if average earnings were at least £125). From 6 April 2026: £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
- Maximum. 28 weeks of SSP per series, measured as weeks of qualifying days. A series also ends after 3 years.
Worked example: three absences, two series
A Monday-to-Friday employee earning £410.00 a week is off sick three times in 2026:
| Absence | Days | Gap before | Linked? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, 1 Jun 2026 – Wed, 3 Jun 2026 | 3 | — | First |
| Mon, 13 Jul 2026 | 1 | 39 days | Yes (56 days or less) |
| Mon, 21 Sept 2026 – Fri, 25 Sept 2026 | 5 | 69 days | No — new series |
80% of £410.00 is £328.00, above £123.25, so the flat rate applies: £24.65 a day for a five-day week. Total: £221.85 for 9 days. The first two absences are one series and have used 0.8 of its 28 weeks; the September absence starts a fresh 28 weeks because it came 69 days after the last one.
For someone earning £140.00 a week, 80% is £112.00, lower than £123.25, so the same three-day absence pays £67.20 (£22.40 a day).
Absences that straddle 6 April 2026 have their own transitional rules — see SSP waiting days rules 2026 and the guide to linked periods of incapacity.
Frequently asked questions
When do two sickness absences link for SSP?
When they are separated by 8 weeks (56 days) or less. Count the days between the last day of the first absence and the first day of the next; 56 or fewer and they are one linked period with a single 28-week maximum (Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 s.152(3)).
Does a one-day absence count now?
Yes, from 6 April 2026. A period of incapacity for work can be a single day, so a one-day absence earns SSP for that day if it is a qualifying day, and it can link to later absences. Before 6 April 2026 an absence needed 4 or more consecutive days.
Why does gov.uk’s calculator give a different answer?
GOV.UK’s SSP calculator works on one period of sickness at a time. If earlier absences link, part of the 28 weeks may already be used, and for absences that started before 6 April 2026 the waiting days were served once per linked series. This calculator takes every absence together.
What earnings figure should I enter?
Average weekly earnings over the 8 weeks ending with the last normal payday before the first day of sickness (for linked absences, before the first absence in the series). Do not round it. If it is clearly above £154.07 you can leave it blank: the flat rate applies.
How is the daily amount worked out?
The weekly rate divided by the number of qualifying days in that Sunday-to-Saturday week, multiplied by the qualifying days the employee was sick. A full week of qualifying days pays the weekly rate.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Statutory Sick Pay: employer guide
- GOV.UK — Work out your employee’s Statutory Sick Pay manually (updated 6 April 2026)
- GOV.UK — Sickness absences that start before and end on or after 6 April 2026
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, s.152 (period of incapacity for work, linking)
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, s.155 (limitations, 28 weeks)
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, s.157 (rates)
- Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982, reg 5 (qualifying days)
- S.I. 2026/373 — Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions
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