Self Certification Sick/Fit Note for less than 7 days
If you have been ill for 7 days or less you don’t need to see a Doctor. You can complete a Self-Certification form yourself. However some employers insist on a Doctor’s note regardless. A Doctors note under these circumstances involves a charge of £10.
Many employers have their own self-certification forms. If your employer doesn’t have its own form you can download the Self Certification Form. Please print it, fill it in and hand it in to your employer. You do not need to see a Doctor.
Doctor’s Sick/Fit Note for more than 7 days
If you have been ill for more than 7 days you will need a doctor’s certificate. These certificates are called ‘Fitness to Work’ Certificates.
The doctor may call you or arrange for an appointment.
If you have already been seen by your Doctor about this illness your certificate will be sent to you within a week.
Requesting an additional Sick/Fit Note
If you have already had a Sick Note (Fit Note) for this illness your Doctor may not need to see you to issue an additional Sick Note. Please complete this form. We will contact you to let you know when you can collect your Sick / Fit Note or we may contact you to arrange an appointment.
School Sick Notes
Certificates for School Absence due to Accident or Illness
NHS GPs have a contract to provide certain medical services and therefore have no professional involvement in education, or school attendance monitoring. Family doctors do not normally provide school absence certificates for children as the parent’s explanation for an absence will usually allow a school to ensure any health related concerns are addressed.
Furthermore, GPs do not routinely provide short term sickness certification for periods of less than 7 days for any purpose, and a doctor will be unable to issue a medical certificate for longer periods of sickness absence unless the patient was seen by a health professional at the time of the illness. Please note that Department of Work & Pensions medical certificates (“Fit Notes”) are provided only for employment and statutory sick pay reasons. They may not be issued for any other purpose.
If a certificate of sickness or absence is required by a school or college for education purposes, this is not an NHS service and the GP practice may levy a charge. The person or organisation that requests the certificate will be billed accordingly. Obviously, any such request must be accompanied by the written consent of the parent or legal guardian if the student is under 16 and the student’s own consent if he or she is over this age. It is illegal for anyone other than the individual practice to set or recommend a fee scale, please contact the practice to check the charges before submitting a request.
If there are safeguarding or legal concerns relating to a pupil’s school attendance, there are arrangements for GPs to share certain information via Children’s Social Care or the Education Welfare Service.