Employees do not require to provide their work place with a doctor’s sickness certificate for any time off work due to illness which lasts seven days or less. However, your employer may require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.
Fit notes and proof of sickness
If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer will ask you to provide some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).
Employees can get a fit note from a G.P. or hospital doctor. If their employer agrees, a similar document can be provided by a physiotherapist, podiatrist or occupational therapist instead. This is called an Allied Health Professional (AHP) Health and Work Report.
Fit notes are free if the employee has been ill for more than 7 days when they ask for one and will say the employee is either ‘not fit for work’ or ‘may be fit for work’.
If it says the employee ‘may be fit for work’, employers should discuss any changes that might help the employee return to work (for example, different hours or tasks). The employee must be treated as ‘not fit for work’ if there’s no agreement on these changes.
Employers can take a copy of the fit note. The employee should keep the original.
You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.
For more information see DirectGov website.
