The Fit Note

A revised sick note system was introduced in April 2010, known as the “Statement of Fitness for Work” or “Fit Note”. The Fit Note is used to prove entitlement to SSP (and occupational sick pay, subject to the employer’s own rules). A paper copy of the Fit Note is issued by the GP and handed to the employer by the worker. A GP can supply a Fit Note after a face-to-face consultation, or less usually, a telephone consultation, or after reading a written report from another health professional.

Most GP surgeries now use an electronic version of the Fit Note which the GP prints off the computer like a prescription and hands to the employee to be delivered to the employer in the usual way. The Fit Note is not emailed by the GP to the employer.

In 2013, the DWP issued revised guidance for doctors, employers and workers on using the Fit Note. The employer guidance, Getting the most out of the fit note, reminds employers that Fit Notes cannot be issued for the first seven days, during which employees can self-certify, and that any employer who wants medical evidence covering the first seven days of sickness absence must arrange and pay for this themselves.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/399837/fit-note-gps-guidance-jan-15.pdf