Statutory Sick Pay Changes April 2026: What Care Agencies Need to Update

By Kizito Chukwude

The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) that take effect from April 2026. For domiciliary care agencies, where sickness absence rates are higher than the national average and many workers earn close to the lower earnings limit, these changes have significant operational and financial implications.

This guide covers what is changing, how it specifically affects care agencies, and what you need to update.

What Is Changing

The key changes to SSP from April 2026 are:

• Removal of the three waiting days: currently, SSP is not paid for the first three days of sickness absence. These "waiting days" mean that workers who are ill for less than four days receive no SSP at all. The new rules remove the waiting days, meaning SSP is payable from the first day of sickness absence.
• Changes to the lower earnings limit: currently, workers who earn below the lower earnings limit for National Insurance do not qualify for SSP. The changes aim to bring more low-paid workers into the SSP system by adjusting or removing this threshold.
• Rate adjustments: the SSP rate is reviewed annually. Check the current rate when the April 2026 figures are published.

Why This Matters for Domiciliary Care

Domiciliary care agencies are disproportionately affected by SSP changes for several reasons. Sickness absence rates in social care are higher than the UK average, driven by the physical demands of care work, exposure to infections, and the pressures of the role. Many care workers, particularly those on zero hours contracts or working part-time, earn close to or below the current lower earnings limit. The removal of waiting days increases the frequency and cost of SSP payments.

For a typical domiciliary care agency with fifty care workers, the removal of the three waiting days alone could significantly increase SSP costs, because short-term absences of one to three days, which previously incurred no SSP cost, will now be payable from day one.

Impact on Sickness Absence Patterns

The removal of waiting days may also change sickness absence patterns. Currently, the lack of pay for the first three days creates a financial incentive for workers to come to work when they are unwell, particularly for those on low pay. This has long been a concern in domiciliary care, where workers visiting vulnerable people while carrying infections creates risks for service users.

From a CQC perspective, the IPC implications are important. If workers no longer face a financial penalty for taking short-term sick leave, absence rates may increase, but the risk of workers transmitting infections to vulnerable service users may decrease. Your IPC policy should reflect the expectation that workers who are unwell do not attend visits.

What You Need to Update

Before April 2026, review and update the following:

• Sickness absence policy: update to reflect the removal of waiting days and any changes to the lower earnings limit. If your policy currently states that SSP is not payable for the first three days, this must be amended.
• Staff handbook: update the sections covering sickness absence, SSP entitlement, and the reporting procedure.
• Payroll systems: ensure your payroll software or provider is updated to process SSP from day one of absence.
• Budget and financial planning: model the likely increase in SSP costs based on your historical absence data. Factor this into your financial planning for 2026/27.
• Return to work procedures: with SSP payable from day one, your return to work procedures become more important for managing absence effectively.

Managing Sickness Absence Effectively

The changes to SSP make effective absence management more important than ever. Good practice includes clear reporting procedures (who to call, by when, and what information to provide), return to work discussions after every absence, trigger points for formal absence management (for example, three absences in a rolling three-month period), referral to occupational health for long-term or recurring absence, and supportive measures to help workers manage health conditions while remaining at work.

The key is to be supportive but structured. Workers should feel comfortable reporting sickness without fear of automatic disciplinary action, but the agency also needs systems to identify and manage patterns of absence that affect service delivery.

The Broader Employment Law Context

The SSP changes sit within the broader package of employment law reforms introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. For domiciliary care agencies, the combined effect of day one unfair dismissal rights, zero hours contract changes, and SSP reforms creates a significantly different employment landscape. Agencies that have been slow to update their employment practices will face increasing legal exposure.

For the full picture of employment law changes affecting care agencies, see our guide to the Employment Rights Act 2025. For zero hours contract changes specifically, see our article on zero hours contracts in 2026.

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