Small Employers Relief Update for 2026-27

From 6 April 2026, small employers will benefit from an increased reclaim rate on statutory payments, helping to reduce payroll costs.

Under the updated Small Employers’ Relief (SER) rules, eligible employers can now reclaim 109% of statutory family‑related payments made to employees — up from the previous 108.5%.

What’s changed?

If you qualify for Small Employers’ Relief, you can recover:

• 100% of statutory payments, plus
• An additional 9% compensation

This applies to:

• Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
• Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)
• Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)
• Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP)

Who is eligible?

You may qualify if your total Class 1 National Insurance contributions for the previous tax year were £45,000 or less.

If you have any questions regarding the employers relief update, please contact Amanda Cooley on 023 8046 1238 or email Amanda Cooley.