The number of fit notes from doctors issued to employees fell by 16% in the first full year of the Covid pandemic.
According to one employment law firm the decline suggests employers are taking a more trusting approach towards employees by not requiring a doctor’s note.
The number of doctors’ fit notes issued fell from 10.2 million in 2019-20 to 8.6 million in 2020-21 (to 31 March), shows an analysis of data by GQ Littler.
Fit notes offer a medical opinion as to a person’s fitness for work when they are unable to work either at all or to the same degree as previously. Employers may request a fit note if an employee has been off work for more than seven calendar days.
Managers may have taken a more lenient approach during the pandemic, by not demanding that employees present doctor notes to explain their absences, the law firm suggests. It’s also possible that with more people at home, continuing to work while feeling ill – fewer people were inclined to request notes from GPs, many of whom were difficult to communicate with during the worst of Covid anyway.
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The use of furlough for large swathes of the workforce and social distancing requirements preventing the spread of common colds, were also possible reasons for the decline in fit notes.
Sophie Vanhegan, partner at GQ Littler, said: “Covid has given rise to unexpected trends in health-related absences from work. While huge numbers of people have been taken ill with the virus, the overall number of fit notes issued by doctors in the past year has in fact gone down markedly.
“Employers understand that it’s been difficult to book medical appointments and may have been more flexible about getting a doctor’s note than they would normally be.”
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Last week, figures were released showing that on average UK employees only took 5.8 days off sick last year compared with 18 in Germany and eight in France. Employees in Switzerland and Sweden, where annual leave allowances tend to be more generous than those in the UK, only took 2.4 days off last year. One company culture consultant said the figures showed that even during Covid employees remained fearful that they would be accused of slacking or of faking illness.
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