Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Sicklines

Think You Need A Sickline?

• You do not need an appointment to request a sickline.
• You can request a sickline, or extension to an existing sickline from us by clicking the image opposite and filling in the request form.
• Paper request forms are also available at reception.
• Our clinicians may contact you to request more information, or to make an appointment to discuss further.
• Please note: You must self certify for the first 7 days; we are unable to provide a sickline for the first 7 days of absence.

Some Important Things to be Aware of...

• We cannot forward date sicklines- but we can backdate them.
• Our usual turnaround time for providing a sickline is 3 working days; but please do remember that if you submit your request on a Saturday, we will not be able process this until Monday.
• If you would like to discuss your condition in greater depth, please give us a call to arrange a consultation with one of our clinicians.

Sickline Request Form

Please send the completed form to our generic clinical email address - nhsh.gp55427-clinical@nhs.scot

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced).