If you feel you do not need to see the doctor it is not necessary for the doctor to issue a certificate for the first week of your illness.
Self-certification forms may be obtained from your employer. If you are ill for more than 6 days you will need to see the doctor for a certificate.
If you require a sick note from your doctor for insurance purposes please ask your doctor for a private one for which a fee is payable.
If you’ve been off sick for more than 7 days
To request a sick note:
- fill out a sick note request form
- phone or visit the surgery from 10am to 6pm
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.
Find out more about sick notes on the NHS website.