Employers requesting a doctor’s statement for the first seven days of an employee’s sickness are referred to the government’s “Fit Note: guidance for employers and line managers” available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fit-note-guidance-for-employers-and-line-managers and the document “Getting the most out of the fit note” contained within.
The section headed “General rules of the Fit Note” (page 3) states;
“Doctors cannot issue fit notes during the first seven calendar days of sickness absence. Employees can self-certify for this time (there is a template form available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-sick-pay-employees-statement-of-sickness-sc2. If your organisation requires medical evidence for the first seven days of sickness absence, it is your responsibility to arrange and pay for this.”
The purpose of this regulation is to avoid the necessity for employees with minor, self-limiting illness or injury to use surgery appointments for the sole purpose of obtaining a medical certificate. We do not, therefore, issue certificates in these circumstances.
If an employer has reason to inquire about a spell of sickness, they are advised to write to the doctor, including written permission from the employee concerned, when a report may be issued. A charge will be made for such a request.
