Fit note guidance
An important change regarding who can issue employee fit notes takes effect from today. Traditionally, only doctors were able to issue a statement of fitness for work, typically called a fit note, after they had assessed an individual’s fitness for work.
From today, the Department for Work and Pensions has updated the law for the fit note so that it can now be issued by nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists in addition to doctors. This means that the employee may be issued a fit note by someone other than a doctor as long as the health professional has been discussing the employee’s fitness to work with them. These health professionals should be treating the employee under NHS services.
You can read the Government’s guidance document on their website.
Employers should also be aware that the requirement for a fit note to be signed by the issuer has been removed, following a change to the law that took effect on 6th April 2022.