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Update 65 - Fit Notes are about to replace Sick Notes what does it mean?

If the fit note states that the employee is unfit for work, then employers should treat this exactly the same way as they would have treated the same statement on a sick note. This should normally be sufficient evidence for an employer to pay the employee any SSP they are entitled to.

An important thing to note is that there is no option on the fit note to say that an employee definitely is fit for work. It is a commonly held misapprehension that an employee who has been off sick needs to be ‘signed back to work’ by their doctor. That has never been the case. There has never been any legal impediment to an employee simply returning to work upon expiry of their sick note. The new fit note regime reflects this.

Update 65 - Today the familiar ‘sick note’ that GPs supply to employees has been abolished. It is replaced with the new ‘fit note’