Sick (fit) notes

If you’ve been off sick for more than 7 days

To request a sick 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. 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.

Date published: 20th September, 2023
Date last updated: 23rd January, 2024