Statutory Sick Pay for Employees

Evidence That You Are Sick

Find out what evidence of your sickness your employer wants.

For SSP, your employer cannot ask you to provide a sick note from your doctor for the first seven days of any sickness. They may ask you to fill in a self-certificate form which may be their own or form SC2 which you can get from your doctor's surgery or your nearest Inland Revenue office or IR website www.inlandrevenue.co.uk

Remember to send the completed form to your employer and not to the Inland Revenue.

If you are sick for more than seven days (including Sundays), you may have to provide your employer with medical evidence that you are sick. This could be a sick note from your doctor or a hospital. If you are being treated by an osteopath, acupuncturist or any other practitioner, send any note they give you to your employer. It will be up to your employer to decide whether or not to accept that you are incapable of work.

If they decide not to pay SSP because they do not accept the evidence, you can ask the Inland Revenue office for a decision, see what if I disagree with my employer's decision? The Inland Revenue may need to ask you to go for a medical before they can make a decision. Your employer can ask you to go for a medical if they are not satisfied that you are unfit for work. Sometimes they will ask the Inland Revenue to arrange this.

It may be necessary for a doctor acting on behalf of the Inland Revenue to examine you to confirm your incapacity. You may prefer your examination to be done by a doctor of the same sex, for example on cultural or religious grounds. You must make this clear and Inland Revenue will then try to arrange this for you.

You may ask for an interpreter to be provided, or you may wish for a friend or family member to interpret for you.