The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a series of significant changes to employment law, with the first phase already in force. In particular, changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), effective from April 2026, are expected to increase costs and operational pressures for employers.
Key changes include the removal of the three-day waiting period and the Lower Earnings Limit, meaning SSP is now payable from the first day of sickness absence and is available to all employees, including lower-paid workers.
Following engagement with members and ongoing discussions with government, we are seeking to better understand the scale and nature of these costs across the retail sector.
We would be grateful to receive answers to the following questions:
- What has been the estimated change in SSP costs in your organisation since the introduction of day-one SSP entitlement and expanded eligibility (including removal of the Lower Earnings Limit)?
- Have you observed any change in short-term sickness absence rates following the introduction of day-one SSP? If so, what has been the operational or cost impact?
- What additional costs or changes (e.g. payroll changes, HR resource, absence management processes) has your business incurred in implementing SSP reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025?
- Looking ahead, what are the areas of the ERA that you believe will incur the greatest cost to your business?
The above questions are intended to guide submissions, but we would welcome any further detail on the cost of Employment Rights Act 2025 measures, including SSP and wider reforms.
Please share your response with Cara by COP Friday 19 June.
