UK mandates statutory sick pay from first day of illness
Payroll teams at UK employers must pay sick wages from day one
Change
UK mandated that statutory sick pay be paid from the first day of illness, covering about 8.4 million current statutory recipients and extending entitlement to roughly 1.2 million workers previously excluded by the £125-a-week earnings floor.
Why it matters
Employers now face tighter near-term payroll cashflow because the unpaid initial days that previously delayed outflows have been removed, increasing immediate funding needs. Payroll, HR and legal processes must be updated quickly to prevent underpayments to newly eligible low‑earners and avoid employment claims.
Implications
- — Payroll teams at UK employers must update payroll schedules and payment runs immediately — failing to implement day‑one payments risks unlawful underpayment and arrears for affected employees.
- — Finance and treasury teams at UK employers must secure or reforecast short-term liquidity now to cover increased first‑day sick‑pay outflows — failure to do so risks missed payrolls or emergency short‑term borrowing.
Unlock the full brief.
- Implications: What this forces you to change — operations, exposure, or compliance.
- Who is affected: Which roles, contracts, and obligations are exposed.
- What to watch: Binding deadlines and enforcement dates.
- Real-time alerts: Delivered the moment a change is published.
- Ask AI: Ask what this means for your specific role.
Source
View on The Guardian