Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support businesses to ensure staff sick notes are verified by GPs where required.

The sick note was replaced by the fit note in 2010. Following reforms in 2022, legislation states that fit notes may only be issued by a doctor, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist following an assessment of a patient’s fitness for work.

For a fit note to be valid, it must include the name and profession of the issuer and the address of the medical practice. Further information for employers is available in the fit note guidance for employers and line managers.

The Government is also testing reforms to the fit note, through pilots across four Integrated Care Boards in England. These are testing a fundamentally different approach, moving away from a process of administrative sickness certification to a new service focused on supporting people to stay in work or sustainably return, including more practical advice for patients and employers.

We are taking a test-and-learn approach, and any future reform will be informed by learning from the pilots.