How long am I allowed to be ill before I need a doctor's note by law?

[hopefully]

I'm hoping to get signed off work, but if my doctor is for some reason unwilling (I can't imagine he will be, but just in case...), how long am I allowed to be ill for before work can demand a doctor's note?

I think you self certify for five days and then require a doctors note.

SC2 (Employee self certification form)
Can be used by employees to certify themselves as sick for the first seven days of sickness for SSP purposes.

From HM Revenue & Customs website.

7days before note

7 calendar days, which usually means 5 working days for most people.

Oh, and unless and until a doctor's note is strictly necessary, your doctor may well charge for writing it. So unless you anticipate being signed of for a significant period, or have used up your self-cert entitlement, may not be worth asking the doctor yet anyway.

Oh, I'd forgotten about doctor's charging for sick notes! Thank for that.

It's looking increasingly like I'm going to need to be signed off for more than a week, so I'll see what the doc says tonight...

I have been off sick all week and finally dragged myself to the doc today to be diagnosed with bronchitis. I asked him for a sick note as the organisation I work for has recently changed its rules on self certified sick leave to a max of 6 working days per annum. He wrote me one signing me off until Monday, paused while he was doing it and asked me if I wanted him to make it the following Monday. Errr, no. I just want to be signed off for the period I am actually ill.

perhaps he thought you might not be fit by Monday, MrS. Bronchitis can be very debilitating

Oh yes, you're right, Iota. I just found him a bit odd as he virtually diagnosed me from the doorway, but to be fair, he had probably been listening to me barking away in reception for the past ten minutes!

MrsS - your company cannot change the rules about self certification. it is the law. you can self-certify up to and including the seventh day but for day 8 and after you will require a GP's sick line. some companies will only pay sick pay after day 3 but they cant legally request a sick line until day 8

kaa0901 the laws about self-certification mentioned above relate to paying statutory sick pay. Lots of companies pay occupational sick pay over and above the basic SSP, and can specify that a doctor's note is required earlier if they wish, or put other rules around it or conditions on it.

I imagine that's what MrsS's company have done - they have changed the rules of their occupational sick pay scheme to reduce the length of a sickness period they are prepared to pay on a self-certified basis without a doctor's note.

Sorry to jump in, but I didn't want MrsS to go running to her employer saying they were not allowed to do this when in all likelihood they are.