If you’ve been off sick for more than 7 days
To request a sick note:
- complete an online form on this website
- Visit our website and use the request an appointment form
A May be Fit for work note is still a Fit note but allows your employer to make adjustments to help you work. If you discuss this with your employer and adjustments are not possible or not suitable the Fit can be used to provide support for your absence.
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.
Fit Notes After Hospital Care
If you are likely to need a fit note (also known as a MED 3 or sick note) when you come out of hospital or following an outpatient attendance, please ask the doctor treating you in hospital to provide you with one before you leave.
This page explains common myths and the facts about who should issue fit notes.
Common myths
- Myth 1: Consultants and junior doctors don’t write fit notes; it’s only a GP’s job.
- Myth 2: If you attended outpatients, the hospital can’t issue a fit note.
- Myth 3: The hospital can’t send a fit note by text or post.
- Myth 4: Hospitals can only issue fit notes for one or two weeks.
- Myth 5: Fit note pads are only supplied to GP surgeries.
Facts
- Fact 1: Fit notes can be issued by NHS and private doctors.
- Fact 2: It may be a contract breach if a hospital fails to provide a fit note when responsible for your care.
- Fact 3: The doctor treating you has a statutory obligation to issue a fit note when appropriate.
- Fact 4: Treating doctors can sign you off for an appropriate period according to your condition.
Why this matters
Every year, thousands of GP appointments are taken up by patients requesting fit notes that should have been issued by hospital doctors at the time of treatment. Please help us keep GP appointments available for patients with genuine clinical need by obtaining your fit note from your hospital clinician.
If you have problems getting a fit note
Contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) team:
- Tel: 01932 723553
- Email: [email protected]
