UK statutory rates for employers, 2026/27
Every number a UK employer needs this tax year, on one page: sick pay, family pay, minimum wage, employer NI, pensions, redundancy and notice - each figure verified against gov.uk.
2026/27: SSP is a day-one right at the lower of £123.25/week or 80% of earnings · family-leave pay is £194.32/week · National Living Wage is £12.71/hour · employer NI is 15% above £5,000 · a week's pay for redundancy is capped at £751 · and from 1 January 2027 unfair dismissal protection starts at 6 months.
Statutory sick pay (SSP)
| Item | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Weekly rate | lower of £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings |
| Starts | day one of sickness (waiting days abolished April 2026) |
| Earnings test | none - the Lower Earnings Limit no longer applies to SSP |
| Maximum duration | 28 weeks per period of incapacity |
| Reclaimable? | no |
What the day-one change costs in practice: our SSP cost calculator, and the full story in the April 2026 SSP changes explained.
Family leave pay (SMP, SPP, ShPP, SAP, SNCP, SPBP)
| Item | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| SMP weeks 1-6 | 90% of average weekly earnings |
| SMP weeks 7-39 / all other family pay | lower of £194.32/week or 90% of AWE |
| Earnings test for family pay | Lower Earnings Limit: £129/week (still applies - unlike SSP) |
| Employer reclaim - standard | 92% |
| Employer reclaim - Small Employers' Relief | 109% (previous year's total Class 1 NI £45,000 or less) |
See the net cost with the maternity pay employer calculator and how the reclaim works. Paternity leave became a day-one right in April 2026 (pay still needs 26 weeks' service).
Minimum wage (from 1 April 2026)
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| 21 and over (National Living Wage) | £12.71 |
| 18-20 | £10.85 |
| Under 18 | £8.00 |
| Apprentice | £8.00 |
| Accommodation offset | £11.10/day (£77.70/week) |
Note the date: minimum wage changes on 1 April, the tax-year rates on 6 April. Salaried staff working unpaid overtime can quietly fall below these rates - see is overtime pay legally required?
Employer National Insurance & pensions
| Item | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Employer Class 1 NI rate | 15% |
| Secondary threshold | £5,000/year (fixed to April 2028) |
| Employment Allowance | £10,500 - all employer sizes since April 2025 |
| Auto-enrolment trigger | £10,000/year |
| Qualifying earnings band | £6,240 - £50,270 (frozen again) |
| Minimum contributions | 8% total, of which 3% employer |
Put these together with the true cost of an employee calculator.
Redundancy & notice
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Weekly pay cap | £751 |
| Maximum statutory redundancy pay | £22,530 (20 years' service cap) |
| Multiplier by age | 0.5 week/year under 22 · 1 week 22-40 · 1.5 weeks 41+ |
| Statutory notice | 1 week after a month; +1 week per year from 2 years; max 12 weeks |
Key dates for 2026 and 2027
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| 18 Feb 2026 | paternity/parental leave notice provisions commence (SI 2026/15) |
| 1 Apr 2026 | new NMW/NLW rates |
| 6 Apr 2026 | day-one SSP · day-one paternity & unpaid parental leave · new statutory rates · SER reclaim to 109% |
| 1 Jan 2027 | unfair dismissal qualifying period falls to 6 months; compensatory cap removed - what it means |
We update this page every April and whenever a rate changes mid-year. Each figure links to its official source - if a number here disagrees with gov.uk, trust gov.uk and tell us.
Keep reading: All 66 HR guides · 30 free templates · 24 calculators
Rates change. CoDash keeps up.
Statutory leave types, sick pay tracking and payroll-ready exports that already know the current rules - so April never sneaks up on you.