Employees can take time off work if they are ill, but they need to give their employer proof if they are ill for more than seven days. If employees are off work for seven days or less, they do not need to give their employer a note or other proof of sickness from a medical professional. When they return to work, their employer can ask them to confirm that they have been off sick – this is known as self-certification.
Employees must give their employer a doctor's 'fit note' (sometimes referred to as a 'sick note') if they have been ill for more than seven days in a row and have taken sick leave (includes non-working days such as weekends and bank holidays). The fit note will say that the employee is either 'not fit for work' or 'may be fit for work'.
Doctors issue fit notes to people to provide evidence of the advice they have given about their fitness for work. They record details of the functional effects of their patient's condition so the patient and their employer can consider ways to help them return to work. The government has announced that more healthcare professionals are to be given powers to certify fit notes. The rationale behind this is to ease pressure on GPs.
From 1 July 2022 nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists will all be able to legally certify fit notes – something that, prior to that date, only doctors could do. Fit notes can only be issued following an assessment of a person's fitness for work, so cannot be issued on request or via over-the-counter services. The change will apply in England, Wales and Scotland.
This is the most significant change to the process of issuing fit notes since they were introduced in 2010. Employers should review their contracts of employment and sickness absence policy is to establish whether any changes should be made in the light of this announcement. Employers may consider that is to take specialist advice to ensure that the fit note procedure is properly understood and implemented throughout their organisation. Employers should bear in mind that they must follow appropriate procedures before dismissing someone who is long-term sick or face the consequences of a claim for unfair dismissal in the Employment Tribunal if they do not follow the correct procedure.
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