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.
Find out more about sick notes on the NHS website.
If you’ve been off sick for more than 7 days
To request a sick note:
- fill out a sick note request form
- If you have not seen a clinician at the practice and we have had no information from a medical professional about your illness, you may not be able to get a certificate without an appointment due to DWP rules. We will let you know either way after submission of your request.
Hospital Sick Notes
Hospital staff must, at a suitable point in time, e.g. on discharge from hospital or following day-case attendance, issue fit notes to patients where appropriate. The note must cover an appropriate period of time to cover the expected recovery period. This includes hospital stays and outpatients for an incapacitating condition.
Therefore, if you are likely to need a fit note (otherwise known as a sick note or MED 3) when you come out of hospital or following outpatient attendance, please ask the doctor treating you in hospital to provide you with one before you leave. This is because the decision on how long you need off work is made by the clinician who has assessed and treated you. If you have forgotten to do this, please contact the hospital and ask for a Fit note to be posted or texted to you. Unfortunately we are not able to provide sick notes to cover this.
If you are having trouble obtaining a hospital fit note, please contact your consultant secretary or PALS (patient advice liaison service)