April 2026 SSP changes increase costs for employers – how SMEs can keep control

Absence has always cost employers money. From 6 April 2026, many employers are likely to feel that cost more sharply as the SSP changes increase costs.  That’s because Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will have the waiting days removed, and entitlement is also being widened as the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) gateway is removed. In practice, that means more days of sickness become payable, and more employees will become eligible.

For most SMEs, the SSP rate itself isn’t the main issue. It’s everything around it: more short absences adding up, more manager time spent dealing with questions, and more disruption when cover is already tight. The good news is you can usually keep the impact under control — but only if your policy, payroll set-up and manager approach all line up and are applied consistently.

Why the April 2026 SSP changes are likely to increase costs

1. Short absences become payable.

If SSP is paid from the first qualifying day, then frequent “odd days off” can quickly add up. A one-day absence stops being just disruption — it becomes a payroll cost too (subject to eligibility). This matters for SMEs who already see patterns like regular Monday/Friday sickness or repeated single-day absences.

2. More employees may qualify.

Removing the LEL threshold is expected to bring more lower-paid and part-time staff into SSP entitlement. Many SMEs rely on part-time hours, flexible working and variable patterns, so the number of SSP-eligible employees may increase.

3. More “odd day” absence is likely once people know it’s paid.

Under the old rules, some employees didn’t bother taking a single day off (or would try to “push through”) because they knew they wouldn’t be paid for the first few days. If SSP is paid from day one, that natural deterrent disappears. For some businesses, this can lead to more one-day and short-notice absences — especially where there are already patterns around Mondays, Fridays or days next to annual leave.

4. The biggest cost often isn’t SSP — it’s the knock-on impact.

Absence triggers overtime, temporary cover, reduced productivity, delays, errors and rework. And if the person off is skilled or client-facing, the business can’t always replace output like-for-like. For SMEs, the real cost is often time and operational impact, not just SSP.

5. Changes create confusion (and disputes) if your documents haven’t caught up.

When entitlement changes, people ask questions. If managers give mixed messages — or your handbook still refers to “waiting days” — you risk underpayments, grievances, and wasted time correcting payroll mistakes after the fact.

Common mistakes that push absence costs up

Increased costs usually come down to one (or more) of these: inconsistent manager handling, out-of-date paperwork, or issues being left to drift, not addressing absence

Typical problems we see in SMEs include:

• Managers improvising responses (so employees get different answers depending on who they ask)
• A reluctance to address absences and leaving them until it is to late to address them
• Handbooks and letters still reflecting the old SSP rules
• Company sick pay / SSP “top up” wording that doesn’t match what payroll is actually doing
• No consistent return-to-work process, so patterns aren’t picked up early and informally

Each one creates avoidable cost — either because you pay incorrectly, spend time undoing errors, or end up dealing with disputes that could have been prevented.

How KeyHR helps you offset the April 2026 SSP cost increase

KeyHR’s focus is simple: reduce your overall absence cost so day-one SSP doesn’t become an ongoing leak in the business.

How we help:

• Review your current absence arrangements and identify the main cost drivers
• Update your sickness absence policy, handbook wording and letter templates
• Review contracts and any company sick pay / SSP “top up” clauses
• Standardise return-to-work meetings and trigger points with simple, usable documents
• Provide manager guidance (and short training) so handling is consistent
• Manage the more complex and long-term absence cases, including occupational health referrals where appropriate
• Supply absence review packs and legally safe escalation documentation

If you want to get ahead of April 2026, KeyHR can run a focused Absence & SSP Readiness Check and give you a clear, prioritised action plan to tighten up processes and reduce absence cost leakage.