PEOPLE should be able to sign themselves off work for two weeks before asking a GP for a sick note, doctors said.

At present, workers must give their employer a note from their doctor if they are off sick for more than seven days in a row, including weekends.

Writing so-called "fit notes" for people who only need to be off work for a couple of weeks takes away appointments from patients who may actually need them, Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association's (BMA) General Practitioners Committee.

Today, medics at the BMA annual meeting will vote on a motion calling for the "self-certification" period to be extended to 14 days.

This suggests people should be allowed two weeks off work without having to prove they have been ill.

Geoff Jolliffe, interim chairman of Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group, welcomes the move.

He said: "We strongly support this move.

"We find that most short term illness is honest and most people want to get back to work as soon as possible."

However, the Federation of Small Businesses believes the new rule might have a negative effect on firms that continue to see an increase in the number of staff sick days.

Paul Foster, regional development manager for the FSB in Cumbria and Lancashire, said: "We understand that GPs do a great job and are under pressure, however the knock-on impact of a move like this will be to place more emphasis on employers to deal with the issue in the workplace.

"PWC research a couple of years back found that the UK has higher levels of sickness absence than the Western Europe average, as well as higher rates than the US and Asia-Pacific. The average rate of sickness absence in the UK was found to be 9.1 days a year, at a total cost of £28bn.

"Allowing employees to take 2 weeks off sick without needing to get a doctors agreement will likely see that rate increase.

"The BMA have suggested that it is the employer’s role to manage workplace health and absence issues, yet this misses the point that most small businesses don’t have a Human Resources department or even a HR manager.

"At a time when employers are getting their heads around the need to auto-enrol employees into pensions schemes, deal with higher wages due to the introduction of the National Living Wage, as well as running the business, this move would be another deterrent to business expansion.

"We need to look at how we fund and run GP services, but transferring responsibility and the problem to small businesses is not the solution."

Should patients be able to go longer without a sick note?
CALLS are being made to extend the amount of time patients can sign themselves off work to alleviate pressure on GPs.

Doctors say people should only contact a GP for a sick note after being off work for two weeks.

Do you agree?