Get a Sick Note Online

A sick note is written confirmation from a doctor that you are not fit for work, or that you may be fit for work with adjustments. Employers use it as medical evidence for an absence, and it is normally what allows sick pay to continue beyond the first week.

Sick note, fit note or medical certificate?

They are the same document. “Fit note” – formally a Statement of Fitness for Work – became the official term in 2010, when the form changed to allow doctors to say what someone could do as well as what they could not. Most people still say sick note, and some employers ask for a medical absence letter or medical certificate. Any of those terms means the same thing.

When your employer can ask for one

For the first 7 calendar days of any absence you self-certify: your own written confirmation of the dates and a brief reason, with no doctor involved. Your employer cannot require a note during that week. From day 8 onwards they can ask for a fit note from a doctor before continuing to pay you. If you are still in your first week, our free self-certification letter covers you.

Why a doctor’s assessment matters

Employers have a duty of care to protect both your health and the health of others, and a fit note is part of how that duty is met. A consultation establishes not just that you are unwell, but whether your condition affects your ability to do your particular job safely – which matters more in some roles than others. Certain conditions affect tasks such as operating machinery, driving, or handling food, where working while unwell could put colleagues or the public at risk. It is also the point at which a doctor can recommend adjustments, such as reduced hours or lighter duties, rather than a straight period of absence.

What our fit notes cover

Our medical certificates:

• Cover a maximum of 10 working days.
• Can be backdated by up to 5 working days where clinically appropriate.
• Are limited to one certificate per illness episode within a 6-month period, unless a further assessment is completed.

These limits exist because a certificate is a clinical judgement about a period the doctor has assessed. A note covering months of absence, or repeated notes for the same illness without reassessment, would not be a meaningful medical opinion – and would not stand up to scrutiny from an employer.

How this differs from an NHS Med3

Health Works issues private medical certificates. These are not the same as an NHS Med3 Statement of Fitness for Work, which is available only through NHS GPs and cannot be provided by a private service. For most employers a private fit note from a GMC-registered doctor is accepted as medical evidence in the same way. Some benefit claims, however, specifically require an NHS-issued Med3, so if your note is for a benefits application rather than your employer, check which form is needed before booking.