If you are ill or unable to work you can self-certify to cover the first 7 days of absence. An SC2 form can be found at the HMRC website.

If you’re off work sick for more than seven days your employer will normally ask for a Fit Note (or Statement of Fitness for Work) from your GP or Hospital Doctor.

When you work out the number of days that you’ve been sick, you need to count all the days in a row you’ve been sick, including days you don’t normally work such as weekends and bank holidays.

The Doctor will provide you with a Statement of Fitness for Work (‘Fit Note’) if you are still not well enough to work. Your employer will most likely request this statement as evidence to support payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Further information is available at the Direct.Gov website.

7 days off sick 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. This is called self-certification. More than 7 days off sick If you’re off work sick for more than 7 days, your employer will usually ask for a fit note.

When your child is off school or nursery with a sickness it can be extremely confusing knowing how long to keep your child off for. The Health Protection Agency has produced guidelines to help you know when it is safe for you to let your child go back to school or nursery. Guidance notes on infection control in schools and other childcare settings Examinations and sickness certificates It should be noted that GPs do not provide sick notes for school children. When children are absent from school owing to illness, schools may request a letter from a parent or guardian, and this is no different during an exam period. However, children who have missed exams due to illness are frequently told by schools that a note from a doctor is required; but this cannot be provided by a GP. Aside from the fact that parents/guardians are responsible for excusing their children from school, GPs cannot provide retrospective sickness certification. When a child suffers from a long-term condition, any certification will be provided by the responsible specialist. General Practitioners Committee (GPC) has sought and received confirmation from the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator that Awarding Organisations make no requirement for pupils to obtain a medical certificate in support of their application for special consideration. Students are asked for information in support of their application, but this may take the form of a statement by the school. The Joint Council for Qualifications has confirmed that as far as they are concerned, if a student was absent from an examination as a result of illness and has the support of the school or centre to be absent, special consideration will be granted on that basis. Awarding organisations do not insist that medical proof is provided.

If you or your employer require further information concerning your period(s) of illness , then your Doctor may require to issue you with a letter. Please note that a charge may apply for this service. Please check with our Reception Desk.