The temporary change to the rules on when you need to provide a fit note has ended. From 27 January 2022 you will need to provide a fit note after 7 days of sickness to claim benefits or claim Statutory Sick Pay from your employer.
For Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), where employees go off sick on or after 10 December 2021, employers can only ask employees for proof of sickness (such as a fit note) after 28 days of sickness (including non-working days).
Proof of sickness cannot be requested earlier than 28 days and a Fit Note is not needed.
These temporary changes are to give GP’s more time to work on the Coronavirus (Covid-19) booster programme.
The Government are due to review the situation at the end of January 2022.