If you are off work sick for seven days or less, your employer should not ask you for a fit note however you may need to provide a self certificate.

You will need a fit note from the doctor if you are off work sick for more than seven days. The seven days include days that you don't normally work. So when you work out how long you've been off sick, you should include weekends and bank holidays.

Your employer can ask you to confirm that you've been ill. You can do this by filling in a form yourself. This is called self-certification. This covers you for the first 7 days of your sickness.

Self-certification forms usually include details such as:

• information about your sickness or illness
• the date your sickness started
• the date your sickness ended

These dates may be days that you don't normally work. For example, your sickness could start or end on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday.

Many employers have their own self-certification forms. If your employer doesn't have their own form, instead they may use an SC2 form from HM Revenue & Customs Employee's Statement of Sickness.

Download a template self certification form

OR

Fill in online here

A medical certificate note must be issued by a doctor. Fit Notes mean your GP can give you advice to help you return to work. This is because work can play an important part in helping people to recover from illness on injury. The GP can either say you are not fit for work, or can say you may be fit for work. The GP will choose the option for may be fit to work if they think that returning to work – with support from your employer – will help you.

There is also space for the GP to give advice to your employer about the impact of your illness or injury and can suggest common ways in which your employer can help you return to work such as allowing you to work part time or temporarily or by changing your duties, for example, if you have back pain, avoiding heavy lifting.

Fit notes are also sometimes called doctor's notes, sick notes, medical certificates or doctor's statements.

If you have not seen a doctor at the practice and we have had no information from a medical professional about your illness, you will not be able to get a fit note without an appointment. Please book a routine appointment; urgent appointments are only provided for genuine medical emergencies and not for the purpose of fit notes.

If you have seen a doctor at the practice regarding the problem you need a fit note for (or we have received a letter from the hospital about your sickness) you many not need to see the doctor again. If this is the case, please complete the 'Additional Fit Note Request' form below and a request will be sent to the clinician to decide if they need to speak to you or not before issuing a note. 

If your employer is chasing you for a fit note, please inform them of the above information and that if a note is issued, it will be backdated to cover the required dates so there is no rush for this.

In either case, there are rules governing the issue of fit notes and the GP may not be able to supply one, depending on the information you provide.

If you are under the care of a hospital, your note may be issued by the hospital, rather than by the practice.

There is usually no charge for providing a fit note if you are off sick for more than seven days.

Some employers may request a fit note (e.g. from employees who repeatedly take time off sick) even if they are off work for seven days or less. This is a private non-NHS medical certificate.

For sickness of seven days or less, a charge of £20 is payable in order for us to provide a certificate.