If you’ve been off sick for more than 7 days
To request a sick note:
- fill out a sick note request form
- phone or visit the surgery from 10am to 6pm
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.
Fit/Sick notes for School Children
Fit/sick notes are only available for people who work and therefore are not available for school children. We have become aware, via a report on the BBC that some schools might request parents to provide a doctors note for children who are absent from school through sickness and will not be accepting terms such as ‘unwell, poorly, ill’ or similar as explanations relating to student absence.
The list of reasons given by parents that it would record an “unauthorised absence”, including:
Ill
Unwell
Poorly
Period pains (unless we have medical information relating)
Has a cold
And similar
Whilst the BBC report does not relate to our locality, at the moment, Parents should be aware that the Practice will not ordinarily provide fit/sick notes under these circumstances as it is NOT an appropriate use of the doctors time.
Should school be insistent on Parents providing a doctors note for what we determine are self-limiting illnesses such as those listed above then a fee will be charged, which we would recommend parents seek reimbursement of the cost directly from the school – ask them first.
Charges for fit notes
Some employers may request a fit note from employees who repeatedly take time off sick, for example, even if each time they’re off work it’s for seven days or fewer.
For sickness of seven days or fewer, this practice will issue a Private Medical Certificate (sick note). Please be aware that the Practice makes a charge to provide Private Medical Certificates. Our current fees can be found here
Read the answers to more questions about workplace health.
Further information: