Best Payroll Software in 2026: UK Cloud Options Compared

Staffology Payroll by IRIS ranked as our best overall pick for most UK SMEs. It combines upfront pricing from £43 per month with the widest integration coverage in our testing (seven accounting tools and five HR tools), alongside HMRC-recognised Real Time Information (RTI) functionality, GDPR-ready controls, live training and an intuitive employee mobile app.

Staffology Payroll by IRIS won’t be the best fit for every type of business, though. Our research found that ADP boasts the best security features, MHR has the most advanced reporting tools, and Frontier’s multi-country payroll capabilities make it the top pick for businesses paying employees across multiple countries or operating internationally.

We reviewed UK cloud payroll platforms using our 56-point research framework (spanning five research pillars and 10 subcategories) and shortlisted seven top solutions for the 2026/27 tax year. Read on to learn more about their top features and price points, and to discover important payroll dates and changes to legislation for 2026 and beyond.

The Best Payroll Software Platforms Compared

For a quick summary of what each top-ranked payroll software provider offers, see the table below:

1. Staffology Payroll by IRIS: Best Payroll Software Overall

• Key USP: Transparent pricing and strong integrations; HMRC-recognised, RTI/GDPR compliant
• Base price: £43 per month (one to 19 payslips); 20 to 50 = £43 + £2.15 per payslip
• Trial and demo: Free trial available
• Support hours: Phone Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm (UK)
• HMRC-recognised: Yes (listed as “Staffology Payroll”)
• PAS: Yes  (IRIS Managed Payroll Services are PAS-accredited; applies to IRIS’s managed service)

What are Staffology Payroll by IRIS’ key features?

Staffology Payroll by IRIS offers deep, customizable payroll reporting to help businesses stay on top of compliance and gain data-driven insights into topics like labour costs and workplace trends.

For example, the platform lets you create administrative reports like tax summaries, P11D reports, and audit-ready logs to support internal reviews and end-of-year checks. You can also produce HMRC and pension-ready files in the exact formats required by local bodies, keeping manual rework to a minimum.

Unlike competitors like MRH, Staffology includes live training sessions as part of its support offering, which helps payroll teams get up to speed quickly on the platform’s functions and best practices.

This training sits alongside comprehensive support resources — such as a knowledge base with tutorials, demos and guidance — so learners can follow up live sessions with self-directed help when needed.

With Staffology, you can customise payslips with your own branding, layout and fields, instead of using standard templates. This helps businesses maintain consistency with internal processes and makes payslips easier for employees to read.

The platform launched a new employee-focused app, Staffology HR by IRIS, in early 2025. The iOS and Android apps let employees manage HR tasks, view payslips, and clock in and out of work without relying on management.

This makes the payroll software particularly well suited to remote and hybrid teams, as employees can access payroll information and record working hours from anywhere — reducing admin bottlenecks and giving staff greater access to their own data.

Our verdict on Staffology Payroll by IRIS

Staffology Payroll by IRIS is available from £43 per month and is one of the rare payroll software providers to advertise its pricing. This is useful for small businesses with a limited budget that want to move forward fast, without going through a quote process.

The only other provider on this list to offer transparent pricing is 1 2 Cloud Payroll, which charges between £5 and £200 per month.

Perhaps even more appealing is that it packs more accounting and HR integrations than any of the providers we researched (seven and five, respectively) — which allows it to work alongside more programs than ADP (three and three) or MHR (one and three).

Business owners who want to keep their current accounting or HR software and integrate it with Staffology Payroll by IRIS will benefit massively from this.

However, there are some downsides. Some users have commented on Staffology’s poor customer support, citing a lack of telephone availability, though the Payroll arm of Staffology does have a customer support line to contact for any queries.

How much does Staffology Payroll by IRIS cost?

Staffology Payroll by IRIS has a starting price of £43 per month. Here’s what you’ll pay based on employee numbers:

2. ADP: Best For Larger Businesses that Prioritise Enterprise-Grade Security

• Key USP: Enterprise-grade payroll with HR/T&A options; requestable live/self-guided demos
• Base price: Bespoke (quote only)
• Trial and demo: Request a demo/self-guided demo
• Support hours: UK customer service Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5.30pm
• HMRC-recognised: Yes (“ADP Limited, including ADP freedom, ADP iHCM”)
• PAS: No (no current PAS accreditation publicly listed)

What are ADP’s key features?

ADP offers one of the broadest payroll ecosystems on the UK market, with optional HR, recruitment, benefits management and learning management solutions (LMS) available, alongside its core payroll engine.

This modular approach makes ADP particularly appealing to growing and enterprise-level organisations that want to manage more of the employee lifecycle — from hiring and onboarding through to payroll and benefits.

Another major strength of ADP is its access to CIPP-accredited payroll expertise and compliance support.

UK customers benefit from guidance designed to help them navigate complex payroll legislation, tax rules and HMRC requirements, which is especially valuable for businesses operating across multiple regions or with varied worker types. In contrast, MHR’s advisory support tends to be more transactional and tied to higher-tier packages.

Data privacy and business protection are another key strength of ADP. The platform is built to meet enterprise-grade security standards, with GDPR-aligned data handling, and ISO 27001–certified information security controls. This level of built-in protection makes ADP ideal for businesses processing large volumes of personal and financial data — particularly those operating across multiple regions.

ADP also includes time and attendance tracking features, allowing businesses to capture employee hours, manage overtime and feed accurate time data directly into payroll calculations. This reduces manual data entry and payroll errors, and is particularly useful for organisations with hourly staff, shift patterns or variable pay structures.

Our verdict on ADP payroll software

Following extensive research, we conclude that ADP is a payroll provider that’s big on security, attested by its ISO 27001 certification and its efficient data encryption.

Besides payroll software, ADP offers other people management software, which integrate easily with its payroll solution. These include HR and benefits management platforms. This is an advantage for businesses keen on keeping their number of suppliers low.

ADP also has a time and attendance feature, which can be used as a clock-in system, great for companies that employ hourly or shift-based employees.

That said, ADP isn’t perfect. For example, it doesn’t provide payroll change reports, despite offering extensive reporting tools, something competitor MHR does offer. Plus, unlike Staffology Payroll by IRIS, ADP isn’t transparent with its pricing.

How much does ADP cost?

You’ll need to contact ADP directly for a quote as its pricing is dependent on factors such as payroll frequency and the number of employees you have.

3. MHR: Best For Businesses that Need Highly Detailed Reporting

• Key USP: Deep, configurable reporting and analytics with HR and payroll in one
• Base price: Bespoke (quote only)
• Trial and demo: Book a demo
• Support hours: Service desk, from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm; 24/7 online portal
• HMRC-recognised: Yes (“MHR; iTrent, People First”)
• PAS: Yes (MHR’s managed payroll services are PAS-accredited)

What are MHR’s key features?

MHR’s payroll and HR platform emphasises depth and configurability, with highly detailed reporting, rich educational resources and access to accredited payroll expertise.

The system’s integrated reporting and analytics tools can surface real-time workforce and payroll data, help monitor trends against KPIs and support strategic decision-making with dashboards that go well beyond basic outputs.

On the advisory side, MHR’s managed payroll services are backed by CIPP- and IPASS-accredited professionals who can offer tailored support when engaged — a level of specialist expertise that rivals ADP’s compliance support, but is typically packaged with consultancy or managed service arrangements, rather than being included as standard with every subscription.

MHR’s scheduling capabilities allow HR and managers to plan shifts and rosters with visibility into staffing needs, helping ensure the right people are assigned at the right time.

The system integrates these schedules with the company’s real-time payroll engine, so actual worked hours feed directly into pay calculations, with correct premiums for overtime and other rules applied automatically.

This makes the payroll software particularly well-suited to larger, shift-based organisations where staffing needs change frequently and accurate time capture is critical, especially compared with payroll-first platforms like Staffology Payroll by IRIS.

Our verdict on MHR payroll software

MHR’s iTrent has one of the most detailed report-generating payroll software programs on the market. In our testing, we used it to track KPIs, assess risks, establish costs and produce legislative reports, and it excelled in all those tasks, with the bonus that you can action them through the same platform.

Due to its sheer breadth, this makes MHR more suited to large businesses, as such deep reporting prowess is likely to be lost in smaller organisations.

Unfortunately, MHR doesn’t offer many accounting and HR integrations. It packs only one and three, respectively, way less than Staffology Payroll by IRIS (seven and five). This is bad news for business owners who want to coordinate payroll with these related activities.

For its part, however, MHR makes it easy for payroll data to be shared with different systems, which mitigates the lack of integration to some degree.

If you’d like to find out more about the platform’s features, check out our MHR Payroll review.

How much does MHR cost?

You can fill out a quick from on MHR’s website to get an accurate quote.

4. Frontier: Best For Companies Paying Staff in Multiple Countries

• Key USP: Proven multi-country payroll capability with UK public-sector footprint
• Base price: Bespoke (quote only)
• Trial and demo: Book a demo
• Support hours: Helpdesk, from Monday to Friday, 8am to 5.30pm; phone 9am to 5pm
• HMRC-recognised: Yes (“Frontier Software, Chris21, ichris”)
• PAS: Yes (Payroll Assurance Scheme accreditation)

What are Frontier’s key features?

Frontier’s payroll is part of a broader HR and human capital management (HCM) suite, meaning payroll doesn’t sit in isolation from HR data. This integrated setup lets organisations manage employee records, contracts, leave, expenses and core HR tasks alongside payroll from a single cloud-based system.

One of Frontier’s standout strengths is its ability to process payroll across 26 countries with multi-currency support and local compliance built in.

This makes it a strong option for UK businesses with global workforces — including those in Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and other Commonwealth regions — as Frontier automates compliance with local tax and statutory rules and handles payments in local currencies.

Frontier provides robust reporting and analytics tools that let payroll teams track payroll changes and trends over time. Standard reports cover gross/net pay, overtime, taxes, reimbursements and gender pay gap insights, and users can also create custom reports tailored to their specific needs.

Our verdict on Frontier payroll software

Frontier allows payment of international employees — a must if you have staff across different countries. Among the providers we tested, Frontier shares this feature with Staffology Payroll by IRIS and ADP, but beats out OneAdvanced and Moorepay, which don’t come with this capability.

Its international payroll features include multi-language and multi-currency capabilities. Paired with its employee self-service mobile app, Frontier is a great option for businesses looking to make payroll accessible to employees, wherever they are in the world.

On the other hand, like OneAdvanced, Frontier doesn’t provide an open API, dealing a killer blow to business owners hoping to integrate with their own HR and accounting software. For those, ADP will be a better choice. Also, like MHR, Frontier doesn’t offer advice on how to stay compliant with payroll laws.

Find out more about this provider’s features in our in-depth Frontier payroll review.

How much does Frontier cost?

Frontier’s pricing is bespoke, so you’ll need to contact the provider directly for accurate pricing.

5. OneAdvanced: Best For Teams That Want Hands-On Guidance During Rollout

• Key USP: Strong enablement/training and tight integration across OneAdvanced’s HR/finance suite
• Base price: Bespoke (quote only)
• Trial and demo: Book a demo
• Support hours: UK/Europe, from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm (service centre)
• HMRC-recognised: Yes (listed as “Advanced; OpenPeople, Advanced Payroll”)
• PAS: No (no public PAS accreditation found)

What are OneAdvanced’s key features?

OneAdvanced includes pension auto-enrolment functionality as part of its core payroll offering, meaning eligible employees can be assessed and automatically enrolled into workplace pension schemes as part of the regular payroll process.

This built-in handling of auto-enrolment is comparable to offerings from ADP and Staffology Payroll by IRIS, which also provide automated pension compliance — but OneAdvanced embeds it within its payroll engine without needing add-ons, making it a strong basic compliance solution for mid-sized UK businesses.

A standout advantage of OneAdvanced’s payroll solution is how neatly it integrates with its broader suite of people management tools, including HR, time and attendance, recruitment, and talent management systems.

These integrations create a unified data flow, eliminating double entry between HR and payroll, and giving organisations a centralised view of employee information.

Our verdict on OneAdvanced payroll software

During our extensive testing process, we were impressed by OneAdvanced’s training prowess, which makes it great if you’re running a small accounting team. In that regard, it beats Moorepay by having a live training feature. However, Staffology Payroll by IRIS also offers this.

OneAdvanced also provides integrations with its wide native suite of other applications, like ADP. These include HR, scheduling, recruitment and talent management software, as well as time and attendance. This wide suite of people management software makes OneAdvanced a great one-stop shop for businesses.

Similarly to MHR, OneAdvanced also offers in-depth reporting, such as the ability to create custom reports, which can benefit larger companies especially.

However, OneAdvanced lacks the free trial that Staffology Payroll by IRIS offers, which, combined with the fact that its pricing is bespoke, can delay knowing if it’s the right choice for you.

It previously lacked a mobile app that many of its competitors have, but now it has mobile capability through its People/T&A apps. And as far as data security goes, it could be better: OneAdvanced fell victim to a high-profile ransomware attack in 2022.

How much does OneAdvanced cost?

You’ll need to contact OneAdvanced directly as it only offers bespoke pricing.

6. Moorepay: Best For Businesses that Want Expert-Led Payroll Support

• Key USP: Expert-led payroll with long-standing PAS accreditation and HMRC recognition; broad HR suite
• Base price: Bespoke (tailored pricing)
• Trial and demo: Book a demo
• Support hours: Email support 24/7/365; phone and chat during UK business hours (exact phone hours not publicly listed)
• HMRC-recognised: Yes (listed as “MoorepayHR; Moorepay Payroll”)
• PAS: No (CIPP PAS; re-accredited for 2025)

What are Moorepay’s key features?

Moorepay’s payroll software is recognised by HMRC and accredited under the CIPP’s Payroll Assurance Scheme, giving businesses confidence that their payroll processes align with UK regulations and best practice standards.

This accreditation means the system is maintained with an expert understanding of statutory obligations, and UK-based payroll specialists are available to help interpret tricky legislation as part of support.

Beyond payroll processing itself, Moorepay provides a range of educational resources, webinars and guidance content, designed to help HR and payroll teams stay informed about tax-related topics and legislative shifts, such as auto-enrolment, SSP reforms and payroll tax changes.

Moorepay’s dedicated mobile app gives employees direct access to their payroll and HR information on the go. Through the app, staff can view and download payslips and P60s, check auto-enrolment letters, request and manage leave, submit timesheets and expenses, and access key HR documents, all without having to contact HR or payroll centrally.

Our verdict on Moorepay payroll software

Moorepay boasts an array of consultants ready to give insightful information to its customers, making it ideal for businesses that require hands-on guidance. Like ADP, Moorepay provides CIPP-accredited expert payroll advice and offers tax-related educational resources.

This makes it a great option for businesses that don’t have a large in-house payroll team or are relatively new to payroll and need expert guidance.

Additionally, Moorepay packs a large suite of other people management software, besides payroll. This includes HR, benefits management, performance management, recruitment and more.

However, when testing the software, we found that, unfortunately, Moorepay doesn’t allow for the payment of international employees, nor does it offer live training, features that Frontier offers. Also, it lacks transparent pricing, unlike 1 2 Cloud Payroll and Staffology Payroll by IRIS.

How much does Moorepay cost?

Moorepay’s pricing is based on factors including processing, add-ons and setup. You’ll need to contact Moorepay directly for a bespoke quote — or if you want to learn more about the provider, check out our Moorepay Payroll review.

7. 1 2 Cloud: Best For Micro and Small Businesses that Need Low-Cost Control

• Key USP: Micro-business pricing from £5 per month and handy rollback function; HMRC-recognised
• Base price: From £5 to £200 per month (tiered by headcount; 500+ = £0.50 per employee)
• Trial and demo: “Test use” (full-feature trial) and live demo rooms
• Support hours: Phone and email; hours not published (contact details provided)
• HMRC-recognised: Yes (“1 2 Cloud Payroll”)
• PAS: No (no public PAS accreditation found)

What are 1 2 Cloud’s key features?

One of 1 2 Cloud Payroll’s standout operational features is its rollback capability, which lets users reverse or delete pay runs when errors are spotted and then re-process payroll correctly.

While many mainstream payroll systems, like Staffology Payroll by IRIS and MHR, also offer correction workflows, 1 2 Cloud’s explicit rollback option makes it particularly simple for small or less-experienced payroll users to fix mistakes without complex steps or help tickets.

1 2 Cloud Payroll prioritises accessible customer support by offering free phone and email support to its users, helping businesses troubleshoot payroll issues or clarify processes with real people rather than automated systems.

This kind of direct support can be particularly valuable for smaller businesses or those without dedicated payroll specialists, as gaining quick answers by phone can reduce the risk of mistakes or delay.

Our verdict on 1 2 Cloud payroll software

1 2 Cloud is an HMRC-approved payroll software provider suitable for small businesses, thanks to its transparent pricing packages. Pricing starts at a fixed rate of just £5 per month for one to two employees, going up to £200 per month for up to 500 employees.

When testing the software, our researchers liked its intuitive dashboard layout, similar to ADP’s. This makes it accessible to non-payroll experts using payroll software for the first time.

On the flip side, 1 2 Cloud doesn’t pack a lot of integrations: it only syncs up with Sage on the accounting front. As far as accounting integration goes, this is the same offer as Moorepay’s, but that competitor also allows for HR and time and attendance integration (which 1 2 Cloud doesn’t).

Find out more about the provider’s strengths and weaknesses in our 1 2 Cloud Payroll review.

How much does 1 2 Cloud cost?

1 2 Cloud charges a fixed monthly subscription price to businesses with between 1 and 500 employees, and charges per employee for any company over 500.

Here’s a breakdown:

• 1-2 employees: £5 per month
• 3-5 employees: £10 per month
• 6-9 employees: £15 per month
• 10-15 employees: £25 per month
• 16-20 employees: £30 per month
• 21-30 employees: £40 per month
• 31-50 employees: £50 per month
• 51-80 employees: £60 per month
• 81-100 employees: £70 per month
• 101-120 employees: £80 per month
• 121-150 employees: £100 per month
• 151-200 employees: £120 per month
• 201-300 employees: £150 per month
• 301-500 employees: £200 per month
• 500+ employees: £0.50 per employee, per month

Other charges to watch out for with 1 2 Cloud Payroll:

• P11D Returns: £5 per P11D employee, per year
• P11D(b) Returns: £10 per company, per year
• CIS usage cost: Same as payroll pricing

Are There Any Free Payroll Software Options for My Business?

Yes, there are HMRC-recognised free payroll tools, mainly aimed at micro-employers (typically less than 10 staff). HMRC keeps an official list of recognised software (free and paid) that can submit RTI/PAYE correctly, so it’s the best place to check what’s currently available.

Examples of free, HMRC-recognised options

• HMRC Basic PAYE Tools (BPT): Free utility for very small employers that handles core PAYE/NIC, RTI (FPS/EPS), and produces basic payslips/P60s. Minimal features and no integrations, but fully compliant. Best for the simplest needs.
• Employment Hero: A free plan marketed to UK SMEs for core calculations, payslips, and RTI submissions; upgrades add HR and automation.
• 1st Money (1st FREE/Free+): HMRC-recognised free tier for micro-business payroll and HR. Positions itself as £0 for up to nine payrolled employees, with paid upgrades later.
• Hartigan RTI Lite: Listed by HMRC as a free option (up to nine employees). Focuses on creating and submitting RTI files rather than full end-to-end payroll.
• Primo Payroll (Accentra): Free tier listed by HMRC for up to 10 employees, with paid plans adding more capacity and features.

How free tools compare with the other providers we highlight above

Great for: Very small teams, straightforward payroll runs, and keeping costs at zero while staying compliant.

Trade-offs versus paid platforms (e.g. Staffology, ADP, MHR, Moorepay): Fewer or no integrations with accounting/HR, limited automation and reporting, little to no API access and often no employee self-service/mobile app. Support is usually lighter, and scaling to multi-entity, multi-country or advanced analytics typically requires a paid product.

How to Choose Payroll Software: Buying Guide

Managing payroll can be a complicated and time-consuming task for businesses of all sizes. To pick the right software, you’ll need to have a handle on all the features that will make that process easier, from dealing with taxes, pensions and statutory deductions, to the core functionality of paying employees accurately and on time.

Here are the features we believe you should look out for:

HMRC compliance

A core requirement — and one we’ve ensured is met by all the payroll solutions featured on this page — is full compliance with HMRC regulations. This ensures tax calculations, statutory payments, and submissions remain accurate as legislation evolves.

At a minimum, cloud payroll software should be able to:

• Automatically update with the latest tax codes, thresholds and statutory rates.
• Correctly calculate and manage statutory payments, such as SSP (statutory sick pay), SMP (statutory maternity pay), and other parental leave entitlements.
• Submit RTI (Real Time Information) to HMRC on or before each payday.
• Support Making Tax Digital (MTD) requirements, including digital record-keeping and secure HMRC integrations — particularly important as MTD for Income Tax expands from April 2026 for self-employed workers and landlords above the income threshold.

Automation capabilities

You’ll want the software to make your life easier, automatically solving payroll tasks for you including:

• Calculating PAYE (Pay As You Earn), National Insurance contributions, and pension deductions.
• Generating payslips and P60s automatically.
• Automatically updating payroll records when there are changes in tax laws or employee data.

Integrations with other systems

Ideally, any payroll you choose will integrate with your existing software systems. This could include:

• Accounting software: Integrations with systems like Xero, QuickBooks or Sage ensure a seamless flow of financial data.
• HR tools: If you use HR software, ensure your payroll solution can synchronise with it to manage employee data, leave tracking, and expenses.

Pension auto-enrolment

Since pension auto-enrolment is a legal requirement for most UK employers, your payroll software must:

• Automatically enrol eligible employees into a pension scheme.
• Send the necessary communications to employees.
• Deduct pension contributions and submit reports to your pension provider.

Ease of use

If you are using cloud payroll software instead of a payroll service, you and/or your team will be completing payroll tasks yourself. That means you’ll want software that has an intuitive, user-friendly interface. A clean, simple layout can save time and reduce the chance of errors, especially if you don’t have a dedicated payroll team.

Customer support

You never know when you might need some help with managing your payroll. Opt for software that provides comprehensive customer support through:

• Phone, email or live chat.
• Online resources such as tutorials, webinars and FAQs.

Good support is crucial if you run into technical issues or need guidance on payroll processes.

Reporting

Reporting can allow you to easily break down where business spending is going on the payroll. That can be especially important for companies that are large and need a birds-eye view of their bulging payroll. Most software offers some kind of functionality here, including detailed reporting features like:

• Payroll summaries and breakdowns.
• Tax and National Insurance reports.
• Pension contributions and RTI submissions.

Reporting capabilities are essential for tracking expenses, auditing, and compliance.

Data security

Securing your payroll data is crucial since you need to comply with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) rules. Software that allows for this is therefore necessary to safeguard sensitive employee information. All the options we suggest on this page adhere to such standards.

Costs

Most crucial of all — how much will the software cost your business? This will vary depending on the pricing model of the software:

• Subscription-based: Most cloud-based payroll software has monthly or yearly payments based on the number of employees or payroll runs you need.
• Pay-per-use: Some software charges per payroll run or report generation. We suggest factoring in both upfront costs and ongoing fees and checking if there are any hidden costs for additional features or users.

Read more about potential fees in our dedicated payroll software costs guide.

What Are Important Payroll Dates For this Tax Year?

The current tax year is the 2026/2027 tax year, so here are the important payroll deadlines that your business needs to be aware of:

Tip for FY27: Late RTI submissions, missed Class 1A payments, and delayed PSA settlements remain some of the most common causes of payroll penalties. So, setting calendar reminders (or using payroll software with built-in compliance alerts) is strongly recommended.

Are There Any Changes to Payroll Legislation in 2026/27?

If you’re running payroll yourself with the help of cloud-based payroll software, it’s important to be aware of legislation changes that affect payroll. Here’s what you need to know:

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA)

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) begins to affect many self-employed taxpayers and landlords in the 2026/27 tax year as part of HMRC’s phased rollout of digital tax reporting.

From 6 April 2026, MTD for ITSA becomes mandatory for sole traders and landlords whose annual gross income from self-employment and/or property exceeds £50,000.

Affected taxpayers must use compatible digital software to keep records and send quarterly updates of income and expenses to HMRC, instead of just filing an annual Self Assessment.

The requirement will also expand in future years. From 6 April 2027, the income threshold falls to £30,000. Then, to £20,000 from April 2028, gradually bringing more taxpayers into the regime.

Statutory sick pay (SSP) rate increase

The statutory sick pay (SSP) rate rises to £123.25 per week from April 2026. SSP is paid by employers to eligible employees who are unable to work due to illness.

For payroll teams, this means:

• Updating SSP rates in payroll systems
• Ensuring correct SSP calculations for part-time and irregular workers
• Budgeting for higher short-term sickness costs

As SSP errors are a frequent cause of payroll disputes, employers should ensure payroll software reflects the updated weekly rate from the start of the tax year.

Day-one rights for SSP and paternity leave

Under new rules applying from April 2026, employees gain day-one entitlement to:

• Statutory sick pay
• Statutory paternity leave

This removes previous qualifying service requirements, meaning employees are entitled to these statutory rights from their first day of employment.

For employers, this increases exposure to statutory pay liabilities for:

• New starters
• Short-term or high-turnover roles
• Sectors such as hospitality, retail and care

Payroll processes must be able to correctly apply eligibility rules immediately upon employment, without relying on length-of-service checks.

How We Ranked the Best Payroll Software