Answers · UK 2025/26
What happens if I earn below the Lower Earnings Limit and get sick?
You are not entitled to Statutory Sick Pay if your average weekly earnings are below the £129 Lower Earnings Limit in 2026/27 -- instead, you may be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit to help cover lost income while you are unwell.
Full answer
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is only available to employees whose average weekly earnings meet or exceed the Lower Earnings Limit, which is £129 a week for 2026/27. Average earnings are calculated over a set reference period, typically the 8 weeks before the sickness began (or a shorter period for newer employees, using an equivalent method). If your average weekly earnings fall below £129, you have no statutory entitlement to SSP at all from your employer, regardless of how long you have worked there or how long you are off sick for -- this differs from many other statutory rights, where a minimum earnings threshold reduces the amount payable rather than removing entitlement completely. This situation commonly affects people with multiple small part-time jobs, zero-hours contract workers with very few hours in a given period, and some seasonal or casual workers. If you do not qualify for SSP because your earnings are too low, your employer must give you form SSP1, explaining why you are not eligible, which you can then use to support a claim for other support. The main alternatives are: Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), a benefit specifically for people whose ability to work is limited by illness or disability, which does not depend on your SSP eligibility; and Universal Credit, which can include an additional amount if you have limited capability for work, once assessed. Some employers offer contractual (occupational) sick pay that is more generous than the statutory scheme and does not have the same earnings threshold, so it is always worth checking your employment contract and staff handbook, since contractual sick pay can apply even where SSP does not. If you have more than one job and your combined earnings across all employers would meet the threshold but no single job does on its own, SSP is still assessed per employer individually, so you may be eligible for SSP from one employer but not another, or from neither, depending on how earnings are split. Use the sick pay calculator to check your own SSP entitlement.
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This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.