Hi Sharon

The GP certainly cannot ethically certify that he has by examination found that the employee is unfit to work from a preceding date if he has not examined him – as you mention. The Dr can only certify from the first date he examined the patient and assessed him to be too sick to perform his expected work duties.

So ,for certificated paid sick leave purposes – I would consider the certificate valid from the time the Dr stated he examined the patient and declared him unfit.Any benefits for preceding days of absence would depend on legislation and any HR policies allowing sick leave without a dr’s certificate.

Also if an employee was so sick that he was unable to be at work for 13 days one would have expected that he would have consulted the dr earlier.

Hope above helps

John

Ps -As a GP – if pressurised by patients – GP could write “as informed by patient “ says unable to work from ---( an earlier date than from I st consultation). HR approach would be as above -- ? management issue –?  go poor attendance route depending on previous history

 

 

In addition to this - someone here  was AWOL from work for two days, after two days managed to contact him via his friends, stated he had been vomiting and couldnt get to the phone to call in, came back to work, lasted two hours and went home stating chest pain. Was then absent for 13 days. Has now handed his manager a Med 5 from the GP stating that he was examined on the day before his return to work but the advice was to refrain from work from a date 11 days prior to being seen by t he GP. Manager not happy - not really within OH remit to comment but an interesting one, do any GP colleagues "backdate" advice for absence?