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Doctors Fit / Sick Notes

If you have been ill for 7 days or less, your employer should not ask for medical evidence that you’ve been ill.  Instead they can ask you to confirm that you’ve been ill. You can do this by completing a Self Certification form yourself, you don’t need to see a Doctor. 

Many employers have their own self-certification forms. If your employer doesn’t have its own form you can download the Self Certification Form. Please print it, fill it in and hand it in to your employer. 

Self Certification Form (PDF)

However some employers insist on a Doctor’s note regardless. A Doctor’s note under these circumstances may involve a charge.

Changes to Fit / Sick Notes

From July 2022 the Department for Work and Pensions has updated the law for the fit note so that it can now be issued by nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists in addition to doctors.

This means that you may be issued a fit note by someone other than a doctor as long as they are discussing your fitness to work with you. These health professionals should be treating you through NHS services and will have received the appropriate training.  Patients will be advised when this will be available at the Practice.

Doctor’s Fit / Sick Note for more than 7 days

If you have been ill for more than 7 days your employer will usually ask for a Fit Note (or Statement of Fitness for Work) from a GP or hospital doctor. These certificates are called ‘Fitness To Work’ Certificates.

In order for the doctor to issue a FitNote they have to have evidence of the patient’s illness/injury such as a recent consultation disusing it, or information from another clinician e.g. hospital discharge letter. If the doctor does not have this it is likely they will ask for you to arrange an appointment to discuss your symptoms to facilitate issuing a Fit Note.

The requirement for the healthcare professional to sign the form in ink has been removed and replaced by the issuer’s name and profession. The new Fit Note does not have a signature box for the GP to sign.

Once your Fit Note has been actioned we can arrange for it to be emailed or texted to you, whichever is most convenient.

For more information visit the NHS Website or GOV.UK

How to count sick days

When you work out the number of days that you’ve been sick, you need to count all the days in a row you’ve been sick, including days you do not usually work, such as weekends and bank holidays.

COVID-19 Advice

Do not ask the GP for a Fit note if you are off work because of COVID-19. Instead you can get an Isolation Note to send to your employer as proof you need to stay at home. 

Requesting an additional Fit Note

If you have already had a Fit Note (Sick Note) for this illness your Doctor may not need to see you to issue an additional Fit Note. Please complete an administration form via eConsult below ⬇️ (click on the banner). We will normally contact you via text or email to advise your Fit Note has been issued, please note this may take up to 7 working days. If the doctor wants to discuss this further with you we will contact you.