Workers should be allowed to sign themselves off sick for two weeks, doctors say

People are currently required to provide employers with a doctor's note if they are sick for longer than seven days in a row

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) will vote on the motion on Wednesday (iStock)

Workers should be able to sign themselves off sick for two weeks before requiring a doctor's note, doctors have said.

Currently, people are required to provide their employers with an official note if they are off sick for longer than seven days in a row, including weekends.

Writing "fit notes" for individuals who simply require a few days off work is time consuming and can affect the number of appointments booked by patients who may need them more, claims Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association's (BMA) General Practitioners Committee.

Medics at the BMA annual meeting will vote on a motion on Wednesday calling for the "self-certification" period to be extended to 14 days.

Dr Vautrey said: "It's about empowering patients and trusting patients and reducing unnecessary appointments with GPs.

"If you've got a patient who very clearly has an illness that is going to last 10 days to two weeks, why do they need to make an appointment with a GP just to get that note to tell their employer what their employer probably knows already and what the patient should be trusted to be able to pass on?

"This is just a motion that is trying to do something to reduce the unnecessary appointments that GPs have and thereby increase the number of appointments that are available for people who genuinely do need to see a GP."

Dr Vautrey said most patients with self-limiting illnesses are usually better within a week but some need a bit longer to recuperate, for example if someone has sprained their ankle and does not feel ready to go back to work.

As well as notes for work, family doctors are also being asked to supply documents for "unnecessary" reasons such as giving the go-ahead for a child's involvement in a school play.

Critics of the motion have described the tabled motion as a tantamount to a 'skiver's charter'.

Joyce Robins, co-director of Patient Concern, said: "The real problem is getting to see a GP, it's hard to do that in a week or a fortnight.

"I certainly don't think nurses should be able to stand in and sign notes.

"But two weeks off work without a sick note is far too much - that sounds to me like a skiver's charter."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "The system was set up following consultation and we believe it supports individuals and employers without overburdening GPs. We have no plans to change the existing policy."