Fit Notes

Fitness to Work Sickness certificates, also known as “sick notes” or “doctor’s notes” are sometimes required to claim sick pay or incapacity benefit. They are only issued if someone is medically unfit for work for more than 7 working days.

When requesting a sickness certificate, please bear the following in mind:

• Patients requesting a sickness certificate should normally be seen by the certifying doctor, unless we have received a written report from another healthcare professional.
• It is not essential that the certificate is provided for an employer immediately it becomes due. On the other hand, we cannot certify illness retrospectively by more than a couple of days, unless the patient has already been seen by a GP or a hospital doctor.
• Patients should provide a self-certificate to their employer for sickness absence of up to 7 days (most employers have self-certificates for employees to complete). If your employer doesn’t have their own form your can download this SELF CERTIFYING FORM. Please print it, fill it in and hand it in to your employer.
• A private certificate may be issued for an absence of 7 days or fewer. An appointment must be made with a GP.