Online companies selling same-day sick notes for as little as £25 were today criticized for offering a service that ‘threatens to put the whole system in the spotlight’.
The letters, which allowed customers to be signed off by UK-regulated doctors, were promised without the need for an appointment.
Customers just have to fill out a form, but some ask people to submit a 30-second video describing their illness.
Users praise the ‘excellent’ and ‘fast’ service. One of them even claimed to have received their note within twenty minutes.
Experts argued that opting out of the sites was “little more than a box-ticking exercise for some.” However, others warned that the problem will not be easy to solve.
Meanwhile, Home2Lab – apparently based in North London – is offering a workplace medical certificate for just £44 for a ‘regular request’. With this option, the site claims a ‘UK doctor’ will sign the certificate before sending it via email, ‘usually within the same day’
The medics are all registered with the General Medical Council, it claimed – the body responsible for overseeing doctors
The revelation comes after Rishi Sunak today vowed to crack down on Britain’s ‘sick note culture’, announcing plans to strip GPs of the power to fire Britons.
The change would see the letters – known in the NHS as ‘fit notes’ – become the responsibility of teams of ‘specialist work and health professionals’.
MailOnline discovered one retailer, Updoc UK, advertising ‘sick notes for work’ from just £24.95.
The letter, ‘accepted by both small and large employers’, provides ‘official confirmation of your illness, granting you sick leave’.
It adds: ‘Get your certification quickly and effortlessly, without the need to make an appointment.’
For £24.95, Brits pay for a monthly subscription with ‘unlimited prioritized medical letter requests’.
The document is signed by a ‘UK practitioner’ and is then delivered via both email and text message.
Other options include the ‘priority express request’, priced at £59.95. This will ensure that patients’ applications are placed ‘at the top of the queue’ as a priority, assessed and signed by a UK doctor.
A ‘regular request’ is also available for £44.95 and is sent by email ‘usually within the day’.
MailOnline discovered one retailer, Updoc UK, advertising ‘sick notes for work’ from just £24.95. The letter, ‘accepted by both small and large employers’, provides ‘official confirmation of your illness, granting you sick leave’
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Meanwhile, Home2Lab – apparently based in North London – is offering a workplace medical certificate for just £44 for a ‘regular request’.
With this option, the site claims that a ‘UK doctor’ will sign the certificate before it is sent via email, ‘usually within the same day’.
The medics are all registered with the General Medical Council, it claimed – the body responsible for overseeing doctors.
A ‘priority express request’, totaling £66, will ensure that the request for a note is ‘at the top of the queue’.
During a test by MailOnline, the website asked the user to upload a one-minute video describing their symptoms.
The two sites have also seen an influx of positive reviews on TrustPilot. One claimed that Updoc provided an ‘excellent, fast and accessible service’ and received the note ‘within 20 minutes’.
Another called Home2Lab a ‘very good service’ and admitted they also received their note the same day.
“Reliable and authentic GP appointment via video,” she added.
However, experts criticized the system.
Jonathan Eida, from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, also told MailOnline: ‘Taxpayers will be shocked that while it may be impossible to get a doctor’s appointment, for many calling in sick is little more than ticking a box.
“Physicians should help alleviate the sick note culture, not contribute to it.”
Meanwhile, Professor Len Shackleton, labor market expert at the Institute for Economic Affairs, told MailOnline: ‘It’s bizarre but all too believable that it is so easy to get a sick note.
“Rishi Sunak has rightly identified this as a problem, but it will not be solved overnight.
‘Insisting on a face-to-face meeting with a doctor or appropriate professional assessor may be the long-term answer, but it is not practical at the moment and will be very expensive.
The Updoc site adds: ‘Get your certification quickly and effortlessly without having to make an appointment’
For £24.95, Brits pay for a monthly subscription with ‘unlimited prioritized medical letter requests’. The document is signed by a ‘UK practitioner’ and is then delivered via both email and text message
Rishi Sunak warned that a rise in the number of people declared ill with mental health conditions is putting ‘unsustainable’ pressure on the social security budget
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‘Employers may need to insist on their own procedures, but the Tribunal system must support such initiatives rather than assuming that employees are always victims.’
The Prime Minister today claimed benefits have become a ‘lifestyle choice’ for some, creating a ‘spiraling’ social bill.
The latest figures show that 2.8 million Britons are ‘economically inactive’ due to poor health. About half suffer from depression, anxiety and bad nerves.
Official forecasts also show that spending on ill health through the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) program will reach £33 billion by 2029 – up from just under £19 billion last year.
Mr Sunak added that it is time to be ‘more honest about the risk of over-medicalising life’s everyday challenges and concerns’.
Labor criticized the plan, arguing that the government had ‘run out of ideas’. Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer also accused Sunak of ‘blaming people who are sick’.
However, many GPs welcomed the change, with some claiming that doctors are ‘often too scared to refuse to sign patients out because they fear they will become angry’.
Professor Dame Clare Gerada, former president of the Royal College of General Practitioners, also said: ‘We cannot be expected to judge them all. That doesn’t mean we don’t care, because we do. But it may be that we simply don’t have time to visit everyone who is sick.’
MailOnline approached UpDoc, Home2Lab and GMC for comment.