You’ve probably heard the ‘Employment Rights Act’ mentioned more than a few times over the past few months. (And I’m sorry to mention it again…)
But, there’s a change coming this April that’s really important to have on your radar, and that’s Statutory Sick Pay.
From April 2026, SSP will look very different.
SSP will be payable from day one of absence, the lower earnings limit will be removed, and many more people will qualify than before. The intention is a good one; better support and financial security for employees when they’re unwell. But for employers, it does mean absence will have a more immediate cost and impact if it’s not being managed well. So, effective absence management has become more important than ever.
And, absence management isn’t about being more heavy-handed or even unsympathetic. What it is about is making sure you’ve got the right foundations in place so absence is handled fairly and also consistently.
If you’re thinking “we probably muddle through just fine at the moment”, you’re not alone. Many organisations do. But with these changes coming in, now is a really good time to sense-check how you’re managing both short-term and long-term sickness absence, and whether your approach would stand up to scrutiny if you ever needed it to.
And as ever, if you want to talk through what these SSP changes might mean for your organisation, or get a second pair of eyes on your absence approach please get in touch.
