Sick/Fit Note

Fit Note (Sick Note) Information
Who can issue them?

Your Fit Note (Sick Note) can now be issued by a range of healthcare professionals, including your GP, practice nurse, pharmacist, or physiotherapist.

No Future Dates: We cannot issue a note for a date in the future
Backdating: We can backdate notes to cover a previous period of illness if required
Routine Only: Fit Notes are not an emergency. Please do not request an emergency appointment
No Signature Needed: Changes to legislation mean Fit Notes are now valid without a handwritten signature.

Find out more: Taking Sick Leave

Sick/Fit Note request form

Please complete our online form (selecting “I have an admin query”) to tell us about your illness and we will direct you to the most appropriate form or service.

Fit Note (Sick Note) Guidelines

  • Eligibility: We can only issue notes for patients currently registered with this practice
  • The First 7 Days: You do not need a GP note for the first 7 days of illness. You can self-certify during this time
  • Medical Records: Notes can only be issued for conditions already documented in your medical record. We can backdate notes if we have a record of your illness, but we cannot issue them in advance (e.g., for a future surgery)
  • Processing Time: Please allow 5 working days for your request to be processed. Fit notes are not considered an emergency and will not be issued by the duty doctor or during emergency appointments
  • Hospital Treatment: If your request relates to a hospital procedure or stay, please contact the relevant hospital team directly. They are responsible for issuing notes for the duration of your recovery or any required work adjustments
  • Indefinite Notes: GPs cannot issue “indefinite” fit notes. These are only provided by a DWP Medical Assessor.
Self-Certificate

If you have been sick for more than four days in a row, but less than seven, you can self–certify your illness using a SC2 form. You can obtain this form from your employer or the HMRC website. If you are unwell for more than four days you are advised to contact the surgery to assess your fitness to work.

More than seven days off sick

If you’re off work sick for more than seven days your employer will normally ask for a Fit Note (or Statement of Fitness for Work) from your GP or Hospital Doctor.

How to count sick days

When you work out the number of days that you’ve been sick, you need to count all the days in a row you’ve been sick, including days you don’t normally work such as weekends and bank holidays.

Statement of Fitness for Work

The Doctor will provide you with a Statement of Fitness for Work (‘Fit Note’) if you are still not well enough to work. Your employer will most likely request this statement as evidence to support payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).

Further information is available at the Direct.Gov website.

When do I need a Fit Note?
7 days off sick 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. This is called self-certification.

More than 7 days off sick: If you’re off work sick for more than 7 days, your employer will usually ask for a fit note.
Child off School
When your child is off school or nursery with a sickness it can be extremely confusing knowing how long to keep your child off for.

The Health Protection Agency has produced guidelines to help you know when it is safe for you to let your child go back to school or nursery.

Guidance notes on infection control in schools and other childcare settings

Examinations and sickness certificates

It should be noted that GPs do not provide sick notes for school children. When children are absent from school owing to illness, schools may request a letter from a parent or guardian, and this is no different during an exam period. However, children who have missed exams due to illness are frequently told by schools that a note from a doctor is required; but this cannot be provided by a GP.
Aside from the fact that parents/guardians are responsible for excusing their children from school, GPs cannot provide retrospective sickness certification.

When a child suffers from a long-term condition, any certification will be provided by the responsible specialist.

General Practitioners Committee (GPC) has sought and received confirmation from the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator that Awarding Organisations make no requirement for pupils to obtain a medical certificate in support of their application for special consideration. Students are asked for information in support of their application, but this may take the form of a statement by the school. The Joint Council for Qualifications has confirmed that as far as they are concerned, if a student was absent from an examination as a result of illness and has the support of the school or centre to be absent, special consideration will be granted on that basis. Awarding organisations do not insist that medical proof is provided.
Private Certificates

If you or your employer require further information concerning your period(s) of illness , then your Doctor may require to issue you with a letter. Please note that a charge may apply for this service. Please check with our Reception Desk.