Waiting Days (SSP): Definition, Current Rules and Employer Impact

Waiting days under Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) in the UK are the first three consecutive “qualifying days” of an employee’s sickness absence during which SSP is not payable. Qualifying days are the days the employee would normally have worked. The waiting day provision means that SSP payments do not begin until the fourth qualifying day of absence, which reduces the employer’s cost for short-term sick leave and discourages very short absences. If an employee’s absence spans fewer than four qualifying days, no SSP is payable at all.

Key Takeaways

• SSP waiting days are the first three qualifying days of absence; no SSP is payable during this period
• If the employee’s absence does not extend beyond three qualifying days, no SSP is payable
• Employers with occupational sick pay schemes may choose to waive waiting days as a contractual benefit

What Waiting Days Mean for Employers

Waiting days reduce the employer’s SSP liability for short-term absences. An employee who is off sick for three days pays no SSP at all. An employee off for five days pays SSP for two days (days four and five). This makes the employer’s SSP cost proportional to the length of absence and reduces the financial impact of frequent short-term absences.

For employers with occupational sick pay (OSP) schemes that mirror or exceed SSP, the waiting days may be waived as a contractual benefit. For example, if the OSP scheme pays from day one of absence, the employee does not need to wait for SSP to begin. However, the employer cannot recover the SSP waiting day cost through HMRC, as SSP was not technically payable.

The waiting day provision is a legacy of the original SSP scheme introduced in 1983. It was retained in the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and has not been amended despite several changes to SSP rates and eligibility criteria. The Department for Work and Pensions has periodically reviewed the waiting day provision but has not changed it.

For employers, the practical impact is that short-term absences (three days or fewer) generate no SSP cost, which may reduce the incentive to challenge every short absence. However, the employer still bears the cost of the employee’s absence in terms of lost productivity, potential overtime for other staff and the administrative burden of managing the absence.

Waiting Days Rules by Region

Country	Rule	Detail
UK	Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992	Three qualifying day waiting period for SSP; SSP payable from the fourth qualifying day for up to 28 weeks
AU	Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)	No equivalent waiting days; NES provides 10 days paid personal/carer’s leave from day one of employment
US	FMLA and state laws	No federal waiting days for unpaid FMLA leave; some state paid sick leave laws have no waiting period

How Waiting Days Work in Practice

A UK manufacturing company with 150 employees processes SSP through its payroll system. When an employee, Sarah, calls in sick on a Monday, the payroll team records Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as waiting days (qualifying days one, two and three). No SSP is payable for these days. If Sarah returns to work on Thursday, no SSP is paid at all because her absence did not extend beyond three qualifying days.

If Sarah remains off sick through the following Monday, SSP begins on Thursday (day four) and is paid weekly at £116.75 for the remainder of the absence, up to a maximum of 28 weeks. The payroll team records the SSP payments and deducts them from the PAYE liability in the next payroll run.

The company’s occupational sick pay scheme pays from day one of absence, so Sarah receives her full contractual sick pay from Monday. The employer does not recover the waiting day cost from HMRC, as SSP was not payable during the waiting period.

Common Mistakes with Waiting Days

• Paying SSP during the waiting period, which is not required and inflates costs
• Failing to correctly identify qualifying days, particularly for employees with irregular work patterns
• Not recording waiting days separately in the payroll system, making it difficult to demonstrate compliance
• Assuming waiting days apply to occupational sick pay schemes, when they are only relevant to statutory SSP
• Not communicating the waiting day provision to employees, leading to confusion about when SSP payments begin

FAQ

What are SSP waiting days?

SSP waiting days are the first three qualifying days of an employee’s sickness absence during which Statutory Sick Pay is not payable. SSP payments begin on the fourth qualifying day of absence.

Can an employer waive waiting days?

Employers can waive waiting days through their occupational sick pay scheme, which pays from day one of absence. However, the employer cannot recover the waiting day cost from HMRC if SSP was not payable.

Do waiting days apply to all absences?

Waiting days apply to each new period of absence separately. If an employee returns to work and then has a new period of absence, the three-day waiting period starts again.