Fake sick leave certificates: what to know

A genuine certificate follows a consultation in which a qualified clinician considers your symptoms, functional limits, relevant history, and expected recovery. It should identify the patient correctly and reflect the clinician's professional assessment. Editing a certificate, using someone else's document, or buying a document without an examination can create employment, legal, and health problems.

Needing time away from work is not limited to visible illness. Infection, injury, severe pain, mental health symptoms, and burnout can affect safe performance. A clinician can discuss suitable leave, modified duties, or further support without you having to self-diagnose.

Book a GP consultation and describe when symptoms began, what tasks you cannot safely do, and whether work is worsening them. Bring relevant records and a medicine list. Follow the certificate instructions and your employer's process for submitting it. If your request is declined, ask what treatment, review, or workplace adjustment may help instead of altering the document.

Arrange a clinical review when illness is affecting attendance, concentration, mobility, sleep, or your ability to work safely. Seek urgent help for severe breathing trouble, chest pain, fainting, thoughts of self-harm, or a rapidly worsening condition. Burnout with exhaustion and loss of function also deserves a proper assessment.

Ask what information is needed for a sick leave assessment, how long a review may cover, whether modified duties are reasonable, and which symptoms should prompt an earlier follow-up. You can also ask how your medical information will be handled.