Glossary · UK
What is Fit Note (Statement of Fitness for Work)?
A certificate from a doctor or other authorised healthcare professional confirming whether someone is unfit for work, or may be fit for work with adjustments, used to support sick pay and benefit claims.
Full Definition
A fit note, formally called a Statement of Fitness for Work, is a certificate issued by a GP, hospital doctor, or (since 2022) certain other registered healthcare professionals such as nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists, confirming a period of sickness absence from work. It replaced the old "sick note" in 2010, and its key feature is that, alongside ticking "not fit for work," the assessor can instead tick "may be fit for work" and add comments on adjustments -- such as a phased return, altered hours, amended duties or workplace adaptations -- that could allow the person to return to work sooner than a straightforward period of complete absence. Employees do not need a fit note for the first seven calendar days of sickness absence -- self-certification is sufficient -- but most employers require a fit note to cover any absence beyond that, and it is generally the trigger document for an employer's Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to be paid, and can support claims for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or the health-related element of Universal Credit for longer periods of ill health. A fit note is not a guarantee of eligibility for pay or benefits in itself -- an employer or the DWP can still ask for further evidence or arrange their own assessment -- but it is normally the central piece of evidence used to decide whether someone is treated as unfit, or fit with adjustments, for work.