I have been off sick for 7 days or less
If employees are off work for 7 days or less, they do not need to give their employer a fit note or other proof of sickness from a healthcare professional.
When they return to work, their employer can ask them to confirm they’ve been off sick. This is called ‘self-certification’. The employer and employee will agree on how the employee should do this. They might need to fill in a form or send details of their sick leave by email.
I have been off sick for more than 7 days
If a clincian from the practice has seen/spoken to you about the issue linked to your sick note, we may be able to complete it without the need for an appointment.
School Absences
Schools are under constant pressure to reduce non-attendance and so will often make contact with parents/guardians if there is a concern about a child missing school. Were GPs to provide notes for every child who was absent from school this would present such a workload that it would affect their ability to care for other patients. For this reason we do not provide letters for school in the majority of instances.
Advice has been sought from the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) about attendance during examinations and this response was received, highlighting that medical proof should not be required.
Requests for reasonable adjustments when taking an examination should be decided upon within the centre of examination. In guidance released by the Joint Council of Qualifications a specialist review is required by the SENCO, not a GP – see the guidance here and as such we are unable to help with such requests.