What to keep when you are off sick for a few days
Updated 14 October 2026
What to tell your employer, when a fit note is needed, and the short list of records that make a sick pay query quick to sort out.
Read more →Guides, news and advice on SSP and employee rights in the UK
What to tell your employer, when a fit note is needed, and the short list of records that make a sick pay query quick to sort out.
Read more →Work out what Statutory Sick Pay leaves you with, which bills to look at first, and how to set up a simple monthly budget for a drop in income.
Read more →SSP was reformed on 6 April 2026. The rate is now £123.25 a week or 80% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower — and both the three unpaid waiting days and the minimum earnings test have been abolished.
Read more →Off work long-term and worried about your job? You've got more legal protection than you might think. Here's how SSP, the Equality Act, and the dismissal rules actually work in practice.
Read more →Anxiety, depression, stress — they're all valid reasons to take sick leave, and the law treats them exactly the same as physical illness. Here's what you need to know about your rights.
Read more →SSP is not paid as a weekly lump sum. It is paid per qualifying day, so the daily rate depends on your working pattern. The full calculation with real numbers for 2026/27.
Read more →Seven calendar days of self-certification, then a fit note. Who can issue one now, what "may be fit for work" actually obliges your employer to do, and what they cannot insist on.
Read more →The reasons SSP can legitimately be refused are a short and finite list. Everything else is an unlawful deduction. Form SSP1, HMRC's disputes team, and the order to escalate in.
Read more →Removing the earnings threshold in April 2026 brought irregular-hours workers into SSP for the first time. How qualifying days and average earnings work when your hours are not fixed.
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