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Sick (Fit) Notes
Learn how to request a sickness certificate
Request a sick (fit) note
If you’ve been off sick for more than 7 days
f you are sick and off work for more than seven days, your employer will normally ask you to provide a medical certificate from your GP. This is called a fit note.
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. 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.
Self-certification forms usually include details such as:
- information about your sickness or illness
- the date your sickness started
- the date your sickness ended
These dates may be days that you don't normally work. For example, your sickness could start or end on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday.
Find out more about sick notes
Charges for certificates
There is usually no charge for providing a fit note if you are off sick for more than 7 days.
Some employers may request a fit note (for example, from employees who repeatedly take time off sick) even if they are off work for 7 days or less. This is a private non-NHS medical certificate.
There is a charge for this, please see the non-NHS services section for further details.
When your fit note runs out
You can return to work when the fit note runs out.
There is no such thing as a 'return to work' certificate.
If your employer requests a letter to this effect, there will be a charge for this because this is non-NHS work. See the non-NHS services section for further details.