If you’ve been off sick for more than 7 days
To request a sick note:
- complete an online form on this website
- 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. Under NHS guidance it is not necessary to provide a sick note for periods less than 7 days and your employer should be understanding of this.
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.
Children
GP surgeries typically do not provide sick notes for children’s school absences. Parents are expected to provide a note from a parent or guardian for short absences, and for exam absences, the school should grant special consideration with the support of the parent and school, without requiring a doctor’s note. For long-term conditions, certification will come from the responsible specialist, not the GP.