Ling-yi Tsai is a distinguished leader in the HRTech sector, bringing over two decades of hands-on experience to the table when it comes to navigating the intersection of human resources and organizational technology. As an expert who has spent years helping global firms modernize their talent management and recruitment pipelines, she possesses a unique vantage point on how legislative shifts ripple through digital infrastructure and company culture. Our conversation focuses on the transformative changes to the United Kingdom’s Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) framework effective as of 2026 and how these new mandates are reshaping the financial and operational landscape for employers across all sectors.
In this detailed discussion, we explore the significant rise in employee absence costs and the specific legislative “rewiring” that has eliminated traditional waiting periods and earnings thresholds. Ling-yi Tsai provides deep insights into the logistical hurdles of auditing payroll systems, the expansion of medical certification to a wider range of healthcare professionals, and the ongoing government pilots aimed at reforming the fit note system. We also delve into the specific challenges faced by low-margin industries and the necessity for HR departments to move beyond outdated handbooks toward a more data-driven, proactive approach to workforce wellbeing.
With the shift to providing sick pay starting on the first day of absence rather than the fourth, what are the most immediate operational challenges you see for HR departments trying to keep pace with these legislative changes?
The immediate challenge is the sheer volume of administrative processing that has hit HR desks since the Employment Rights Act 2025 rewired these rules on April 6, 2026. For years, payroll systems and absence-tracking tools were built around a comfortable four-day trigger, but that buffer has vanished, meaning even a single day of illness now activates a liability. We are seeing organizations struggle to recalibrate their digital infrastructure to catch these short, one- or two-day absences that previously required no SSP intervention. It is a massive shift to realize that roughly 1.3 million workers who were previously ineligible because they earned under the £125 weekly limit are now suddenly entitled to support from their very first hour of absence. HR leaders must now engage in a rigorous audit of their payroll history to identify these specific staff members and ensure that the new 2026/27 rate of £123.25—or 80% of earnings—is applied with pinpoint accuracy. The emotional weight on HR teams is palpable, as they must also retrain front-line managers who might still be inadvertently telling employees they aren’t eligible for pay until later in the week, creating a genuine risk of legal underpayment claims.
The recent data shows sickness absence costs are at a fifteen-year high, reaching an average of 9.4 days per employee. How should organizations interpret these figures when evaluating their current wellbeing strategies?
When you look at the leap from 5.8 days in 2022 to 9.4 days per employee in late 2025, you are seeing a workforce that is under immense sustained pressure. These are not just abstract percentages; they represent 148.8 million working days lost across the UK, a figure that signals a fundamental change in how health is managed in the workplace. The disparity between the public sector at 13.3 days and the private sector at 9.1 days suggests that different work environments are absorbing this stress in very different ways. Organizations need to stop viewing these absences as isolated incidents and start using their internal data to spot the “smoke” before the fire starts, which is something Acas has been advocating for years. Instead of simply reacting to a notification on a screen, HR must look for patterns in the certification and the timing of absences to address underlying wellbeing issues before they escalate into long-term leave. It requires a move from the “paperwork” of absence management to the “psychology” of it, recognizing that the pre-pandemic stability we once knew has not returned.
Given that 1.3 million previously ineligible workers now qualify for sick pay due to the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit, what specific advice do you have for sectors like retail or hospitality that are feeling this financial pressure most acutely?
For sectors like retail, hospitality, and facilities management, where profit margins are often razor-thin, this is far more than a minor policy update; it is a direct hit to the bottom line. The government’s own analysis suggests these changes add roughly £450 million in costs annually across the country, which averages out to about £15 per employee, but that average hides the much sharper impact on businesses with high numbers of part-time, low-wage staff. My advice is to perform an immediate, comprehensive audit of your staff handbook and payroll software to ensure you have purged any mention of the “minimum earnings test.” Managers in these industries are often used to high turnover and fast-paced shifts, but they must now be trained to keep meticulous records of every single absence, regardless of how short it is. If a manager fails to document the certification for a first-day absence, the company loses its ability to track trends and protect itself against potential disputes. It is about creating a culture where every hour of work and every hour of illness is tracked with the same level of precision that you would apply to your inventory or food costs.
The definition of a “fit note” has expanded significantly to include nurses, pharmacists, and remote consultations. How can HR teams update their handbooks to reflect this flexibility without losing control over absence verification?
Many HR handbooks are still living in the past, demanding a “doctor’s note” that must be obtained in person, which simply does not align with the legal reality established since July 1, 2022. Today, a fit note carries full legal weight whether it comes from a registered nurse, an occupational therapist, a pharmacist, or a physiotherapist, and it can be issued following a digital consultation via phone or video. HR teams should embrace this expansion rather than resist it, as it actually removes the barrier for employees to get the certification they need in a timely manner. We are seeing a rise in digital providers that allow clinicians to review cases remotely, and a policy that refuses to accept these is not only stricter than the law requires but can also delay the return-to-work process. The key to maintaining control is not in the “who” or “how” of the note’s delivery, but in the accuracy of the record-keeping and the communication between the manager and the employee. By relaxing the “doctor-only” requirement, you actually make it easier for your staff to comply with the rules, which in turn gives you better data to manage the 2.0% sickness absence rate we are seeing nationally.
What is your forecast for the future of sickness management, particularly with the new NHS WorkWell pilot sites trialing non-clinical support services?
My forecast for the next several years is a shift toward “integrated intervention,” where the medical fit note becomes just one small part of a much larger support ecosystem. The government’s investment of £3 million into the pilot program across sites like Birmingham, Coventry, Cornwall, and Lancashire is a clear indication that they want to test referral routes that don’t always end in a clinical sign-off. We are looking at a future where up to 100,000 appointments will test whether non-clinical or mixed support services can help people stay in work or return faster than a traditional doctor’s note ever could. I expect that if these trials are successful, we will see HR technology platforms start to integrate directly with these NHS WorkWell sites to streamline referrals. This will move us away from a “gatekeeper” mentality and toward a collaborative model where the goal is to provide the right support at the right time. For HR professionals, this means the era of simply “tracking days” is ending, and the era of “managing recovery” through a mix of clinical and social support is officially beginning.