Sick (fit) notes

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

If this is a new request for a sick certificate for 7 days or more you will need to see a GP in a routine appointment to discuss.

To request a sick note:

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.

Your employer should provide you with the form for “Self Certification” of sickness or you can do it electronically here Self Certify Sickness Form.

Please do not ask for sickness certificates for less than one week, unless your employer is prepared to pay a fee.

Find out more about sick notes on the NHS website.