Fit and Sick Notes/Certificates
If you're off work sick for seven days or less, your employer should not ask for medical evidence that you've been ill. The seven days includes days that you don't normally work. When you work out how long you have been off sick, you should include weekends and bank holidays.
If you're off work sick for more than seven days, your employer will usually ask you to provide proof that you've been ill. They will normally ask for a fit / sick note from your GP.
Sickness of seven days or less
Your employer 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. This is called self-certification. 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 its own form, it may use an SC2 form from HM Revenue & Customs instead: Employee's Statement of Sickness.
Sickness of more than seven days
If you're sick and off work for more than seven days, your employer will probably ask for proof of your illness. Most employers ask for a fit / sick note from your GP.
However, this 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 to provide proof of illness or a fit / sick note.
Fit / sick notes and how to get one
A fit / sick note must be signed by a doctor, such as your GP or other health care professionals. They will assess you, and if he or she decides that your health affects your fitness for work, they can issue a fit note and advise that:
- you are "not fit for work"
- you "may be fit for work taking into account the following advice"
For more information, including what "may be fit for work" means, see What are fit notes?
If you need a fit /sick note, contact us and we will advise you if you need to make an appointment. We can often provide fit / sick notes without seeing patients if for example you have been in hospital.
There is never a charge from an NHS doctor for providing a fit / sick note if you're off sick from work for more than seven days.
Charges for fit / sick notes
Some employers may request a fit /sick note from employees who repeatedly take time off sick, for example, even if each time they're off work it's for seven days or fewer.
For sickness of seven days or fewer, we may charge to provide a fit / sick note but we will advise you beforehand what the charge will be.