Sick note

Hey peeps,

Just had a wee question, if i have a sickline (I got another one from my doc on friday for a week) do i actually need to take the full week off sick or can i return to work before the time is up?

cheers

Lauren x

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your bosses would no doubt love you to return early,but make sure you have recovered ok-hey,its only work after all!!

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Hi Lauren,

Officially, if your sick note signs you off for a week, and you want to go back before the week is up, you need another, different, note to 'sign you back on'.

Employers vary in how rigorous they are in demanding this, though. I think if they do let you back without the second note, if anything happened to you at work, eg a worsening of your condition, your employers might be able to be held liable for letting you back to work before the doctor had said you were fit. So a lot of employers would be a bit reluctant.

As bluejam says, do make sure that you are fit before you go back, won't you!

Em

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Usually when we have people who return to work early-the company insist on them reporting to our internal medical dept for assesement-quite often,people are sent back home for reasons Emily pointed out.

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Hi Lauren,

You are not insured if you return to work before your sick note expires.

I've wanted to return to work in the past before sick note expiry date. ( Just too over work sad!)

I've also had members of my team wanting to return to work before sick note expiry date. Told them the same no matter how over stretched we were.

You need to see your GP re an amendment. Quite frankly, if your doc says you need time off... then you do! xxx

Look on the bright side. You will return to work with more energy, ideas and just general coping sort of mechanisms, if you give yourself the right amount of recovery time.

Mia

XXX

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I don't know what my work would be like.

I'm just bored and another 8 days will make me go totally crazy!! lol.

Signed off as x-ray results still mot back - how can it take a week to ten days? and because i do 9 hour shifts which normally 8 hours of which are spent on my feet (not good on a suspected broken foot) so I said I would go back if could sit down for more of my shift say half of it.

Also, which is silly, I want the whole disciplinary procedure etc to be over ASAP, preferably before my holiday so i know exactly where i stand. One of the managers says my OH stuff relating to my Asthma is seperate and I know they need to look at those absences differently but in a way I think they should look at this in relation to Asthma seeing as 1- it happened at work while taking an Asthma attack so technically the Asthma caused it?

Fair enough my OH letter is all about Asthma and Panic Attacks but it shows what happens when they are not dealt with and when they are bad etc? does that make sense?

I so need to stop worrying or i'll make myself ill again with the stress

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Cheers Mia,

Out of curiosity if my line was giving to me on friday, dated friday and says one week, does that mean I can go back Friday? or do i need to wait till the following week?

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If your sick note was given on Friday and is for one week, I would interpret that as meaning that you would have to wait to the following week, rather than going back on the Friday.

Em

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Lauren,

One 'working' week is five days. Therefore you should return to work on a Monday, UNLESS your contract states otherwise.

Mia

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Personally, when writing sick notes I interpret this slightly differently.

With the increasing tendency to weekend working and shift patterns, a lot of people now work the weekend routinely. A ""week"" is therefore seven days. So, if I wrote a note on a Friday, for one week, that would be seven days from that Friday inclusive - meaning that I would anticipate you going back to work the next Friday.

I would phone your doctor and ask for clarification, in case things are interpreted slightly differently where you are.

And yes, if you wish to return to work sooner than the note states, you need a ""Signing off"" note to say that you are fit to return to work,

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cheers for all that!! Having never had a sick note in my life it is rather confusing!! I wonder if my doc would sign me back on so to speak if i phoned and asked! I know i should just take the week but i really want to get back and started back before my holiday so i can come back from that reaxed rather than ready for a disciplinary!

xx

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It depends how picky your doctor is - following the declaration to the letter, and I'm afraid I do, then the doctor has to actually SEE you to sign you back to work. This is because the declaration on the Med3 - the sick note - states ""I have *seen/examined* you today/yesterday and have advised you that...."" so, legally, the doctor signing the form should have clapped eyes on you in the preceeding 24 hours to say that you are or are not fit for work.

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Cheers for that Cathbear,

I know what you mean I really should just take the sick note and relax - it'll do my foot a bit good to keep it relaxed. I think I just want back to work as i'm worried about going in for a disciplinary etc but i shouldn't go back to early for that!

I should maybe just go back on Friday and chill till then, my doc did say i could go back part time but in no circumstances was i to go back to 9 hour days and keep walking on it all day. i'm so stressed and confused - arghhh!!!!

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at least i manage to interpret that 1 right which means i def going bk to wrk mon after 7/52 off. realistically prob should ask for another week but want to do ecdl and have been told that have got to attend this weeks session week 3 as starting word processing. line manager agreed can attend while off sick so long as its only 1 session meaning need to be bk in wrk so back i go will do head good. going back reduced hrs hopefully like 3 1/2 days to start. try reduced hrs laurrenjayne if you can it will help get your foot going again but don't expect it to be normal straight off still have twinge from mine when i broke it last november.

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Thanks Kathrine,

Is your foot stil bad from last November? That is crazy but saying that i on several occassions hae problems with my wrist after fracturing it in 2004!!

I'd love to go back on reduced hours as, as much as i do want to go back i'm also worried as simple things like going for my shopping today was a struggle and that was walking around tesco for half an hour when i go back it will be 8 or 9 hours a day. Fair enough if i go back Fri i then have three days off but if i'm being honest with myself i think i may be going back too soon. Who do you speak to about reduced hours etc? Would it normally be personnel? I think what wil make my work be awkward is that it was misdiagnosed first time - so i worked on it for a fortnight! Argh!!!

xxx

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Thanks Kathrine,

Is your foot stil bad from last November? That is crazy but saying that i on several occassions hae problems with my wrist after fracturing it in 2004!!

I'd love to go back on reduced hours as, as much as i do want to go back i'm also worried as simple things like going for my shopping today was a struggle and that was walking around tesco for half an hour when i go back it will be 8 or 9 hours a day. Fair enough if i go back Fri i then have three days off but if i'm being honest with myself i think i may be going back too soon. Who do you speak to about reduced hours etc? Would it normally be personnel? I think what wil make my work be awkward is that it was misdiagnosed first time - so i worked on it for a fortnight! Argh!!!

xxx

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prob best to speak to your line manager i have either that or occy health. As for misdiagnosing i also walked o n mine for 10 days after having it x rayed and was told it was just brusied it was only cause one of hv's in work said that i should get it checked again as was still struggling after 10 days that i went elsewhere and was told was broken.

good luck

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seriously? I suppose it must be difficut to diagnose - even now tho i am still waiting on my X-ray results for a fall that happened almost 4 weeks ago!!

I told them last week i'd go back part time this week but they never got bak to me - to be honest who ever is covering me is not doing a ful job and i oculd prob do more in 3 or 4 hours. I'll see what my doc/work says tomorrow. I know when i go back friday they'll want me to work the weekend as overtime and i'll get hassle when i say no - arghh!!

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apparently my work can not help or support me as i've not been on long term sick!! I mean what is counted as long term sick?

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Where I work long term sick is over 4 continuous weeks

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I quickly want to hijak this thread? I only get 20 days Off from school this year and I have already taken 15. If I get a sicknote for docs and dentist and stuff-will it still count?

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Nope - ""sick notes"" - AKA the Med3 form - are for statutory sick pay purposes ONLY. You might approach your doctor for a letter to explain your absences, but usually if schools are concerned about your attendance they will ask you/your doctor for this anyway.

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SSP and Incapacity Benefit, surely? My job centre seems to want Med 3s for IB, too. Or am I nit-picking - are they considered close enough to be counted as the same thing?

Having never worked in GP land, I don't really know much about this whole sick note thing - only that I keep forgetting to get one when mine runs out

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Yes, they're linked. Once you've given enough sick notes you get an IB medical assessment by the DWP (or whatever they're calling themselves nowadays) and then they tell the GP they don't need to issue any more sick notes. Alternatively they may ask for a MED4 which is for a longer period of sickness/incapacity.

Or something like that. It's Friday, my brain stopped working at 1830hrs...