Sick (Fit) Notes

Sick For Less Than 7 Days

If you have been off work 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 completing a Self Certification form yourself – you don’t need to see a Doctor. 

SC2 (2010) – Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Employee’s statement of sickness

Sick For More Than 7 Days

If you’ve been sick for more than 7 days, your employer will typically request a Fit Note (also known as a Statement of Fitness for Work) from your GP or a hospital doctor.

For the doctor to issue a Fit Note, they need evidence of your illness or injury, such as a recent consultation note or information from another healthcare provider, like a hospital discharge letter. If the doctor doesn’t have this evidence, they may ask you to schedule an appointment to discuss your symptoms before they can provide the Fit Note.

The requirement for a healthcare professional to sign the form in ink has been removed and replaced with their name and profession. The updated Fit Note no longer includes a signature box for the GP.

After your Fit Note is processed, we can send it to you via email or text, depending on which method is more convenient for you.

To request a Fit Note please use complete the online services form – click on the ‘Fit Note’ tile. Please allow upto 5 working days for us to process your request

Find out more about sick notes on the NHS website.