Guarantee pay

Statutory guarantee pay, or SGP, is an amount payable to employees who are not provided with work by their employer, on a day they would normally work under their contract of employment, in specific circumstances.

The payment of SGP is usually associated with employees being placed on lay-off or short-time working, however, it is payable in a broader range of circumstances. More information on lay-off and short-time working can be found on our employment law pages.

The rate of SGP is set by the government and is £29 per day from 6 April 2019 (see our ‘Statutory rates’ page for historic rates) payable for a maximum five days in any three-month period for a full-time worker. For historic rates, please refer to our statutory rates page.