Lisa Hatch weighs up the evidential value of the new style sick notes for disability discrimination claims
Most employers and employment lawyers will at some point have come across GP’s sick notes produced by absent employees. However, on 6 April 2010 the old style Med 3 and Med 5 sick notes familiar to many were replaced with a new-style “fit note”. Officially titled a “Statement of Fitness for Work” the new note is now being issued by GPs to patients off sick from work. The new single form will be used for both statutory sick pay and social security claims (see the Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/137) and is only issued if the patient is off sick for more than seven days. GPs are required to tick a box on the form to confirm whether the patient is “not fit for work” or “may be fit for work taking account of the following advice”. In a crucial change from the old sick notes,
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