TradedocSSP policy
A blank Statutory Sick Pay policy you can print and fill by hand. Or the faster option — fill it on your phone, signed and emailed before the lad's first shift. Tracks the day-one SSP regime under the Employment Rights Act 2025 — no waiting days, no Lower Earnings Limit (in force 6 April 2026).
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What it is
A Statutory Sick Pay policy sets out how the employer manages absence — what the worker must do to report sickness, what evidence is required, when SSP is payable, what the rate is, and how SSP interacts with any contractual sick scheme. From 6 April 2026 SSP is a day-one right paid from day one of absence with no Lower Earnings Limit, which materially changes the wording every pre-2026 policy used.
UK legal requirement
Statutory Sick Pay regime under Part XI of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, as amended by the Employment Rights Act 2025. From 6 April 2026: SSP is payable from day one of absence (the three waiting days are removed); the Lower Earnings Limit no longer disqualifies low-paid workers; SSP is set at the lower of the prescribed weekly rate or 80% of the worker's normal weekly earnings (TBC by regulations).
Compliance status
This template tracks Employment Rights Act 2025 day-one rights (in force 6 April 2026). Our compliance radar crawls the publishing bodies every six hours — see the standards we build to today or the radar of what's coming next.
Engineer remains responsible for verifying compliance with the version applicable to their work. TradeDoc is a tool, not a regulator.
Who needs it
- ·Every UK employer paying any worker liable to SSP — including sole traders with a single employee
- ·Construction firms with CIS subcontractors who fall on the worker side and are inside SSP
- ·Letting agents and small landlords employing a property manager or maintenance worker
- ·Family-business directors employing a relative (spouse, adult child) on PAYE
What goes on it
Every mandatory field, in the order the inspector or auditor will check them.
Reporting sickness
Who the worker must contact (named manager, on-call number), by when (typically before the start of the working day), what information they must give (reason, expected duration). The policy should set the reporting bar low enough that genuine illness reports are easy.
Evidence
Self-certification for the first seven days of absence (Form SC2 or equivalent). Fit note (Statement of Fitness for Work) from a healthcare professional from day eight. Do not require evidence the worker cannot reasonably provide.
SSP rate and payment
Statutory weekly rate (uprated annually each April), payable from day one from 6 April 2026. The maximum 28-week SSP entitlement per period of incapacity. Payment via normal payroll on normal payday. No Lower Earnings Limit disqualification from April 2026.
Contractual sick pay (if any)
Whether the employer pays anything above SSP. If yes — qualifying service, length of full and half pay, set-off against SSP. If no — make it clear that the policy is SSP only.
Return-to-work meeting
Brief return-to-work conversation after every absence — covers welfare, any adjustments, fit-note follow-up. Not a disciplinary meeting; a welfare and audit step.
Long-term absence
Trigger for occupational health referral, frequency of medical review, link to capability or ill-health dismissal procedure where indicated. Cross-reference reasonable adjustments under Equality Act 2010 s.20 if disability applies.
Day-one rights signpost
Brief acknowledgement that from 6 April 2026 SSP, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are day-one rights — no qualifying-service barrier.
Common mistakes on a hand-filled one
The small things that get picked up on audit, insurance review, or when the next engineer reads it.
- ✗Keeping the three-day waiting period in the policy after 6 April 2026 — the waiting days are abolished, SSP is payable from day one of absence
- ✗Disqualifying low-paid part-timers who would have failed the old Lower Earnings Limit — the LEL no longer applies to SSP from April 2026
- ✗Demanding a fit note from day one — only required from the eighth day of absence; days one to seven are self-certified
- ✗Setting evidence requirements that disabled workers cannot reasonably meet — capable of breaching reasonable-adjustment duties under EqA 2010 s.20
- ✗Withholding SSP because the absence runs over a holiday already booked — sickness during booked holiday converts to sick leave, holiday is preserved
- ✗Treating SSP as a 'last resort' below contractual cover — SSP is the floor, employer-top-ups (where offered) sit on top
The faster option
Fill one on your phone in 2 minutes
Pick the template. Answer the fields. Customer signs from their inbox. PDF saved in the vault with a unique number. Free forever on your first 100 docs a month. Pro £15/month adds custom branding and one-tap customer email. No card at sign-up.
Frequently asked questions
What changes for SSP on 6 April 2026?+
Two big things. (1) The three waiting days are abolished — SSP is paid from day one of absence. (2) The Lower Earnings Limit no longer disqualifies low-paid workers from SSP. The weekly rate continues to uprate each April. The policy needs to reflect both changes from 6 April.
How long can a worker be on SSP?+
Up to 28 weeks in any single period of incapacity for work. After 28 weeks SSP runs out and the worker is signposted to Universal Credit / Employment and Support Allowance. The 28-week clock can roll over linked periods of incapacity.
Do I need a separate contractual sick pay scheme?+
No, but most employers offer one to reduce the cliff-edge between SSP and full pay. Common pattern: full pay for two to four weeks per rolling year, then SSP only. If you don't offer one, say so clearly in the policy — silence creates ambiguity.
What if a worker turns out to be persistently absent for short periods?+
Use a Bradford-factor or trigger-points style framework, but pair every trigger with a welfare conversation, occupational health where indicated, and reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 s.20 if disability is in play. Capability dismissal is the last step, never the first.
Can I require a fit note from day one?+
No. The statutory framework is self-certification (Form SC2) for the first seven days, fit note from day eight. Requiring earlier medical evidence is a barrier to genuine reporting and risks indirect disability discrimination.
What's SSP worth in cash terms?+
The statutory weekly rate is uprated each April. From 6 April 2026 it is set at the lower of that prescribed weekly rate or 80% of the worker's normal weekly earnings (the percentage cap was added by the Employment Rights Act 2025 to prevent over-payment to very low earners). Check the current rate at gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay.