Absenteeism | GP fit note system 'under huge strain' as employers urged to take more responsibility

The UK’s fit note system is “under huge strain”, with GPs increasingly carrying responsibility for decisions about mental health-related absence that employers should help manage, an HR expert has warned.

Bertrand Stern-Gillet, CEO at HA Wisdom Wellbeing, said organisations need to take a more active role in supporting employees’ mental health rather than relying solely on GP-issued sick notes.

The comments follow a BBC investigation which found hundreds of GPs say they have never refused a patient’s request for a sick note for mental health reasons.

“This report confirms what many businesses already know: the UK’s fit note system is under huge strain, and GPs are carrying the weight,” warned Stern-Gillet.

“Many GPs have never refused a fit note for mental health reasons, not because the need isn’t real, but because the system forces them into a role they were never designed to play.”