Sick (fit) notes

If you’ve been off sick for more than 7 days

A medical certificate note must be signed by a doctor. The 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.

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 certificate without an appointment. Please book a routine appointment; urgent appointments are only provided for genuine medical emergencies and not for the purpose of certificates.

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

To request a sick note:

If you are sick and off work for more than seven days, your employer will normally ask you to provide a medical certificate from your GP.

When you need a certificate will also depend on your employer’s company policy on sick leave (or sickness absence). This policy should tell you how many days you can be off sick before you need a note.

To find out about your employer’s policy:
– ask your team leader or supervisor, or
– speak to someone from your human resources (HR) or personnel department
If you have seen a doctor at the practice regarding the problem you need a medical certificate for (or we have received a letter from the hospital about your sickness) you many not need to see the doctor again. The doctor may also be able to speak to you on the telephone depending on how well they know you and why you are off work sick.

Fit certificates can be back-dated so it is not necessary to make an emergency appointment to renew your certificate. If you attend an emergency appointment for the purpose of getting a medical certificate you will be asked to rebook.

If your sick certificate runs out and you are still sick, complete the online form to request an additional medical certificate from your GP. You can also complete a fit note request form at reception, which will be passed to the doctor to review.

If you’ve been off sick for 7 days or less

If you’re off work sick 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 filling in a form yourself when you return to work. We call this self-certification. 

Find out more about sick notes on the NHS website.

When do I need a fit note? – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

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 the template Self Certification Form

Charges for fit notes

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.