The rules around sick leave were written for offices, and they apply with the same force to anyone working from a kitchen table. UK employment law draws no distinction between a desk in Canary Wharf and a sofa in Stockport.
Self-certification runs for seven calendar days. Past that, a fit note becomes necessary. Where the laptop happens to be sitting is irrelevant to any of it.
What working from home does change is the texture of calling in sick. The illness is invisible to everyone else. There’s no colleague to notice the pallid complexion, no terrible cough that sends someone home before they’ve started the day. It might just be a Slack message, a manager replying, “feel better soon!”
Is There A Difference for Remote Workers Calling in Sick?
UK employees, wherever they’re working from, are entitled to take sick leave when they’re too unwell to do their job. The first seven calendar days can be self-certified. That means completing the employer’s self-certification form, sometimes called an SC2, and notifying the line manager in accordance with the company’s procedure.
Office presence used to settle this question without anyone needing to say much. A colleague would see someone arrive looking ill, mention it, and the matter would handle itself. On Slack or GChat, no one can see the migraine or hear the cough.
Sick Leave When Working From Home
The mechanics of taking sick leave remain identical. Employees are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from the fourth day of qualifying sickness, assuming they meet the earnings threshold. Many companies offer enhanced sick pay on top of SSP, often from day one, depending on the contract.
What changes at home is the temptation. The temptation, when ill but ambulatory, to log on for “just a couple of emails” or attend a meeting because nobody can see the dressing gown. This is usually a bad idea. Working through illness at home tends to prolong it, blur the boundary for the next bout, and raise the threshold for ever taking a day off again.
A reasonable rule of thumb: if an employee would have stayed in bed when they still had to commute, they should stay in bed now that they don’t have to.
There’s a secondary consideration around contagion that office workers used to manage by, well, leaving the office. Remote workers can’t infect anyone through an online meeting. That doesn’t mean they should push through the flu, gastroenteritis, or fevers just because no one’s at risk of catching it. The body still needs rest to recover.
When Self-Certification Stops Being Enough
The seven-day rule is the one most employers and employees know best. If sickness extends beyond a week, including weekends and non-working days, a fit note becomes necessary. The fit note (officially the Statement of Fitness for Work, formerly known as a sick note) confirms the employee is unwell. It also provides guidance on whether they could return with adjustments.
Since 2022, fit notes can be issued by GPs, hospital doctors, registered nurses, pharmacists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists. The choice of who issues it tends to depend on what’s accessible.
O nline services have made this considerably less painful for remote workers, who can request a sick note via video consultation rather than waiting eleven days for an in-person GP appointment.
Employers must accept fit notes from any of the authorised professional groups listed above; refusing one because it didn’t come from a GP is not on.
WFH Sick Note Policy: What Employers Should Have in Writing
A surprising number of companies that went hybrid or remote in 2020 still haven’t updated their sickness policies to match. The old policy assumed office. It talked about “informing your manager before 9 am” and “not attending the workplace.” Some of it transfers cleanly.
A sensible WFH sick note policy covers a handful of practical points. How to notify the manager, including the preferred channel (email, GChat, or phone). Self-certification expectations for absences under seven days. When a fit note is required, it can be issued by various qualified professionals, not just a GP. How sick leave interacts with annual leave, in case anyone tries to claw back a sick day off a booked holiday. And rules on returning to work, which, for remote workers, tend to be less ceremonial but still worth a sentence.
The clearer this is written, the fewer awkward conversations there will be later. Ambiguity around remote sick leave is where most of the friction comes from. The employee isn’t sure whether to log off entirely or stay on Slack for emergencies. The manager isn’t sure whether to message at all. Both end up doing the wrong thing slightly, then resenting each other for it.
How Remote Workers Can Get a Fit Note Without Leaving the House
For anyone past the seven-day mark, an online consultation is the path of least resistance. A GMC-registered doctor assesses the symptoms over video, issues the fit note if warranted, and sends it digitally to the patient. The whole thing takes about as long as making a cup of Lemsip.
Hola Health does this through GMC-registered, NHS-trained GPs available 8 am to 6 pm every day. Anyone needing a sick note can book a consultation here and have it sorted before the kettle’s boiled. The same service issues fit-to-work certificates and work adjustment letters when those are what’s needed instead.