Pegasus Opera 3 / Opera 3 SE Payroll Release v3.02.00

We are excited to announce the release of Opera 3 and Opera 3 SQL SE v3.02.00 annual payroll upgrade for the 2025/26 tax year end and includes the required legislative changes for the 2026/27 tax year.

Statutory Sick Pay
The Employment Rights Act (2025) removes waiting days for SSP as of 6 April 2026. It also removes the requirement for employees to earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) to be entitled to receive SSP. Employees will now be entitled to the lower of

• 80% of average pay
• SSP flat rate pay

To account for situations where SSP is being claimed for a period spanning the transition date, employees already claiming SSP will continue to be paid at their existing rate until they return to work or 26 weeks have passed, whichever is sooner.

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Northern Ireland) or (SPBP (NI) for short
The Northern Ireland Assembly is introducing a new entitlement, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Northern Ireland), which is similar to the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay introduced in England, Wales and Scotland in 2020 and which comes into effect on 6 April 2025. This entitlement will provide financial support for bereaved parents in Northern Ireland.

FPS, EPS
The usual year-on-year uplift changes have been made, along with the following changes that are relevant to tax year 2026/27.
FPS

• Removal of state aid declaration.
• Employee Workplace Code for Employees with a NI Code relating to Freeports or Investment Zones or an employee claiming SPBP (NI).
• Value of (SPBP (NI)) pay to date

EPS

• Value of SPBP (NI) recovered for the year to date
• Value of NIC compensation on SPBP (NI) for the year to date

Place of Work Postcode
Where an employee is declared as a Northern Ireland employee or either investment Zones or Freeports are in use, a “Place of Work Postcode” field is present on the Additional Information tab of the Details & Bank form. This field is required to be updated for employees to which any of the following apply

• claiming SPBP (NI)
• has a Freeport NI Code (F, I, S or L)
• has an Investment Zone NI code (N, D, E or K)

Attachmentse
Please find attached the following documentation from Pegasus for the Opera 3 Payroll Upgrade 2026:

• Legislative and Product Changes Guide
• Rates Bands Guide
• Checklists Guide

Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.

Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.

Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.