How much SSP is worth
[ch 5: page 85]The 2018-19 weekly rate for SSP is £92.05. That is equivalent to less than 12 hours on the National Living Wage. The same weekly SSP rate applies to all eligible employees (although there are special arrangements for some groups of workers, see below). Tax and National Insurance is deductible.
As it is a weekly rate, the amount employers must actually pay an employee for each day they are off work due to illness (the daily rate) depends on the number of qualifying days (QDs) they normally work each week. For example, if five QDs are worked per week the 2018-19 daily rate is £18.44, but for three QDs per week the daily rate is £30.69.
SSP stops when the employee comes back to work, or no longer qualifies because they have received the maximum amount of SSP — 28 weeks. It is payable for that duration even if the worker is hospitalised.