On 16 December, temporary regulations were passed amending the requirement for medical evidence to be provided for the payment of statutory sick pay (SSP).
Under these new regulations, employees may self-certify their absence for up to 28 days (an increase from the previous 7 days). This period of incapacity must still be continuous and include any non-working days (weekends and bank holidays).
The regulations took effect from 17 December and shall continue until 26 Janaury 2022. If an employee’s absence begins during this time, they do not need to obtain a statement of fitness to work (“Fit Note”) from their GP until the 29th day of incapacity.
This extended self-certification period will also apply to employees who were absent prior to 17 December but whose incapacity had not yet exceeded 7 days. It will not, however, apply to employees who by 17 December had already been absent for more than 7 days. Those individuals must continue to provide medical evidence of incapacity.
This has no doubt been brought in to ease the pressure on GP’s during the omicron phase. If you have any questions about the evidence that your employees need to provide whilst off sick, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
(December 2021)