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SC2 Form - this form is used for less than seven consecutive day's sickness absence from work.

The SC2 form is normally completed by an employee to provide their employer with details of sick absences of less than 7 consecutive days. An SC2 self-certification form is used to help decide whether or not the employee is entitled to receive statutory Sick Pay (SSP).

An employer may require an employee to provide a doctor's certificate after more than seven days' sickness and some employers continue to operate sick pay schemes which offer employees more generous benefits than those laid down under the legislation but that require certificates for short periods of sickness. If, however, a person requires a certificate before the first seven consecutive days absence, the GP is entitled to charge a fee.

Some "absence management" procedures provide employers with the means for dealing with employees suspected of abusing the privilege of self certification or who have record of persistent short term sickness absence but you will have been told about this if this applies to you. This should not be a standard arrangement for all employees.

Med 3 - A different form called a Med 3 form is generally required after 7 days of sickness and this is normally issued by a doctor.

The conditions of the website state that the form cannot be linked to directly so below, please find step by step instructions to guide you to the Self-Certificate Form.

This is the HM Revenue & Customs website front page that you should be expecting to see:-

And in order to access the SC2 form , type SC2(2008) into the search box at the top of the page

If you click on the link for the form SC2(2008) Statutory Sick Pay Employee's statement of sickness, then you should be able to

If you are in any doubt about the precise arrangements with your employer, you should call your employer to check arrangements for self certification before relying upon the HM Customs and Revenue form but this should suffice in most cases of short term absence.

The information provided here is intended to be generally applicable in most cases and employees in any doubt about the arrangements concerning the arrangements for sick certification should not reply upon information provided here but check with their own employer as to the precise arrangements in any particular set of circumstances if they are unsure. The author does not accept any liability arising from those relying upon the general advice provided above.