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Original poster

taking one sick day off from work..... sick note?

25 replies

morninggirl · 08/08/2008 09:26

can my employer request a sick note if i miss one day of work?

this has been implied to me and i am wondering if anyone can clarify.

(info if it helps: i work 20 hours part time)

thanks in advance.

OP posts:
katiepotatie · 08/08/2008 09:29

I work in an office and you are expected to hand a sickline after 5 days sickness, you can self cert until then.

katiepotatie · 08/08/2008 09:29

I work in an office and you are expected to hand a sickline after 5 days sickness, you can self cert until then.

Tortington · 08/08/2008 09:29

no its after 3 days i think

WilfSell · 08/08/2008 09:30

I think you can self-declare up to 3 days? But you may still have to fill in a form about it.

Things may be different if sickness absence occurs regularly (not an HR expert sorry...)

WaynettaSlob · 08/08/2008 09:30

Not as far as I know - but to be sure complete this and it should tell you for sure

katiepotatie · 08/08/2008 09:30

sorry for double post

wheelsonthebus · 08/08/2008 09:30

Employers cannot ask for a doctor's certificate for the first seven days of a spell of sickness though they can ask you to notify them on your first day of absence.

PuppyMonkey · 08/08/2008 09:31

It's five days before a sick note at my place.

We just fill in an in-house form when we get back if it's just one day off only

Original poster
morninggirl · 08/08/2008 09:36

we have to fill in a form after any time missed (when admin remembers to give them to us!)

i just read thru my contract and it says nothing about the amount of time allowed off without a sick note.

i'm off sick today and worried that because i cant see my doctor today (short of going to the surgery for a 'sit and wait' appt. this morning), they'll ask for a note.

OP posts:
Miaou · 08/08/2008 09:38

If they required a note after every day of sickness then doctors would spend all their time writing sick notes rather than seeing sick patients - if it is company policy, it's an unrealistic one!

Original poster
morninggirl · 08/08/2008 09:39

i can definitely imagine that Miaou, GPs hardly seem to have enough time as it is!
i've phoned my surgery, but the best they can do (short of me waiting for an appt.) is having a GP phone me this afternoon.

OP posts:
lilymolly · 08/08/2008 09:44

no you self certify yourself for 5 days then you need sick note after that

As long as you inform work on your first day of abscence

PuppyMonkey · 08/08/2008 09:46

Sometimes you're just off with the squits or something and you don't go to the docs at all... you sit at home and receover while watching Murder She Wrote . I'm sure you'll just get the normal form on Monday and that'll be it.

Original poster
morninggirl · 08/08/2008 09:51

i called my job at 8.30am to let them know and they told me to call in an hour before my shift to let them know if i was or was not coming in?!

OP posts:
flowerybeanbag · 08/08/2008 10:00

if they are paying you over and above statutory sick pay they can request one if they like, but it would be unusual. It's more usual to self-certify for the first week.

When you say this has been 'implied' to you what do you mean? Have they actually asked you for one? It would be unusual unless you've already said you won't be in for a fair period of time.

DontNeedAnything · 08/08/2008 10:04

"Evidence that you are sick

Your employer will ask you for evidence that you are sick. This will usually be in the form of a sick note from your doctor.

But your employer cannot ask you to provide a sick note, for the first 7 days that you are sick. They may ask you to fill in a self-certificate of their own or form SC2 which you can get from your GP's surgery, or HM Revenue & Customs website."

from under the section How do I claim

So that suggests that you employer cannot legally ask for a sick not for the first 7 days.

flowerybeanbag · 08/08/2008 10:08

Dontneed that's if you are claiming SSP. If your employer offers a more generous sick pay scheme they can put conditions on it if they want to which includes requesting a sick note. There's nothing to say that legally an employer can't ask for one. They can't withold SSP if you don't provide one, as it's not required for SSP, but if they want to put the condition on a more generous scheme that you must provide one they can.

It would be unusual which is why I am questioning where the OP has heard this from, but it's not illegal.

imaginewittynamehere · 08/08/2008 10:13

Morninggirl - when I was at work we would do this for those with a bad sickness record, they would be told when they reached this & that for all future sickness they would need a note until their record was suitably improved (as Flowerybeanbag says this was if you wanted full pay not SSP) - you would be surprised at what a difference it suddenly made to attendance

How is your current sickness record?

DontNeedAnything · 08/08/2008 10:17

Fair enough Flowery

Original poster
morninggirl · 08/08/2008 10:21

the only thing my contract says is that i'm not paid sick time for the first day i take off sick if it is a day i am normally scheduled to work.

'implied' meant i was talking to a coworker and was told that so & so was asked for proof of being sick after one day off. this, though would not surprise me.

i've never been told i have a bad sickness record. the majority of time i have missed this year has been due to my son and various illness/infections/etc. (the last time i missed time because of my son being poorly, it was mentioned to me that my attendance was down, so i've strived to improve that (and thankfully no illnesses on my son's part!)

i'm not asking for any pay, (as per my contract, i wont be paid for today), i just want to not have to worry about this when i return to work tomorrow (or monday).

my personal sickness record is not high. although i dont have a total amount of days since i've worked there that i've missed due to my own illness.

but legally, now i'm confused, can they or can't they ask for sick note proof after one day?

OP posts:
NorthernLurker · 08/08/2008 10:26

As I understand it if they are paying you statutary (sp?) sick pay (SSP) then they cannot legally ask for a sick note till 7 days of absence. If they are paying your usual wage ie. more than SSP they could ask but as they are doing neither for you then I supect no you don't have to provide one. What happens if you are off sick tomorrow regarding pay?

flowerybeanbag · 08/08/2008 10:29

morninggirl I really wouldn't panic. 'So-and-so heard that this happened to someone' really isn't anything to go on.

I can't imagine that they'd want a sick note anyway for one day off sick if they're not paying you anyway.

They can't withhold SSP if you don't provide a sick note but you're not entitled to SSP at this stage anyway. Just follow whatever the normal procedure is, filling in their own form as you've mentioned.

Original poster
morninggirl · 08/08/2008 10:32

northernlurker> i would be paid for tomorrow at normal wage if i miss work, but given the worrying of today, i'll go in anyway.

i'm trying not to worry too much. i'm dreading phoning back at 12.30 to say i wont be in.

shrug at the end of the day, i guess what will be, will be.

waiting for my GP to phone...

OP posts:
elkiedee · 10/08/2008 20:35

Your colleague who was asked for a sicknote after one day had probably had a certain number of sick days off already or a pattern of sickness (I had a colleague with a habit of taking Monday or Friday sickies or ones when she wouldn't be able to get annual leave.

Original poster
morninggirl · 10/08/2008 20:49

just an update: i went into work saturday, probably should have stayed off, but nevermind, no one said much of anything to me.

it never dawned on me that it was friday..

OP posts:
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