Statutory Pay Explained

Sick pay, maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental pay. The flat weekly rates PAYE pays instead of your normal wage

If you're off work sick, or away on maternity, paternity, adoption, or shared parental leave, you're usually still paid, just not your normal wage. Instead, PAYE pays you at a flat statutory rate set by the government, roughly the same for almost everyone regardless of what they normally earn. This page covers those rates and how long each one runs. The one thing about them that surprises most people: the flat rate is a ceiling on what most people get, not a guaranteed minimum. Someone earning less than around £216 a week is actually paid a percentage of their own earnings throughout, never topped up to it.

How statutory pay differs from your normal pay

Statutory pay still runs through your employer's normal payroll. It still shows on your payslip (see Your Payslip Explained), and Income Tax and National Insurance are still taken off it the usual way. What changes is the amount: instead of your contracted salary, you're paid a rate fixed in law, worked out per week rather than derived from your annual pay.

Many employers offer more than the statutory minimum: "enhanced" or "contractual" sick pay, maternity pay, and so on, often as a genuine staff benefit. The figures below are the legal floor every eligible employee is entitled to, not necessarily what you'll actually receive. Check your contract or staff handbook for anything better.

Eligibility for each of these (length of service, minimum average earnings, notice you need to give) has its own rules that aren't covered in depth here. This page focuses on the rates once you qualify. Check gov.uk's eligibility guidance for your exact circumstances.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

If you're too ill to work, SSP pays £123.25 a week, or 80% of your average weekly earnings if that's lower, for up to 28 weeks. It's paid by your employer, not claimed from the government directly.

4 weeks off sick, on the flat SSP rate, pays £493 in total: 4 × £123.25.

Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, and Shared Parental Pay

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) share a two-tier structure: 90% of your average weekly earnings, completely uncapped, for the first 6 weeks, then £194.32 a week, or 90% of earnings if that's lower, for the remaining weeks of a 39-week total. Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) use the same "flat rate or 90%, whichever is lower" test for their entire, shorter 2-week duration. There's no enhanced first tier to skip straight to the lower figure.

The lower earner in that example never reaches £194.32 a week at any point. 90% of their own earnings stays below it throughout, so that's what they're paid for all 39 weeks. It's a genuinely common misconception that the flat rate acts as a safety net everyone eventually reaches; for anyone earning under around £216 a week, it doesn't.

This page explains general statutory pay rules and is not personalised advice; see the disclaimer. It doesn't cover eligibility in detail, enhanced contractual pay your employer might offer on top, or how these interact with Universal Credit. See also Redundancy Pay Explained and Mileage Allowance Explained for other payments outside your normal payslip.