Sick Leave

What should I do if I am off sick?

If you are sick and unable to attend work it is imperative that you personally make contact immediately on the first day of absence with:

When in a Hospital Post:

  • When you know you will be unable to attend work, contact as soon as possible: 
    • 1.Medical Staffing -Telephone 0300 422 2935 (24hr answer machine)
    • 2.Your supervisor within your department/rota co-ordinator
    • 3.At weekends, specialty on-call consultant and medical staffing (24hr answer machine).
  • You will be asked:
    • 1.how long you think the absence period is likely to last
    • 2.when you are next on shift
  • Please ensure you keep in regular contact.
  • Forward a medical certificate for absence of 7 days or more to the medical staffing department.

When in General Practice:

  • Practice Manager in line with local procedures
  • Educational Supervisor
  • GP Programme Administrator and the lead employer by email with the GP Change form

Failure to notify the required people may have a serious consequence on your training and employment/pay records.

In addition to the above, if the absence is greater than 3 calendar days, a self-certification form will be required – please click here for a copy, or a medical certificate will be required for absences over 7 calendar days. It is important that medical certificates are provided in a timely manner, failure to provide regular medical certificates to cover periods of absence may result in sick pay being withheld. Both of the above should be sent to the lead employer

What if I have an emergency at home?

This covers unforeseen domestic emergencies that require the immediate attendance of the employee (GP Specialty Registrar), and may include emergencies with dependants (spouse, child or parent), or for domestic emergencies such as fire or robbery in the employee’s own home.

Employees can only take one day’s leave for each emergency situation, and emergency leave may be granted up to twice in any one leave year.

Leave is granted to enable the employee to attend to the emergency and put in any necessary ongoing arrangements such as alternative care.

Depending on the circumstances and any frequency of requests for emergency leave, we may consider other options in addition/instead of granting paid leave, these may include unpaid leave, use of annual leave or TOIL, change of shift pattern.

I am stuck abroad due to a plane strike what should I do?

Contact your employer immediately and make plans to return to the UK as soon as practical. You will be required to use up annual leave, or take unpaid leave.