I received TWO sick notes in two hours for ‘stress’ without ever speaking to a doctor – all I had to do was pay £25 to fill in an online form (although one company showed me a 30 second video explaining my illness before handing over my hall pass!)
BARNEY CALMAN: After the Prime Minister yesterday announced a crackdown on sick note culture, which has pushed the number of Britons due to ill health to 2.8 million, MailOnline found companies were selling the official documents for as little as £25, with ‘no appointments needed ‘
It was disturbingly simple.
After the Prime Minister yesterday announced a crackdown on sick note culture, which has left the number of Britons unemployed due to ill health up to 2.8 million, MailOnline discovered companies selling the official documents for as little as £25, with no ‘appointments needed’ . .
We put their services to the test and within two hours I managed to purchase two sick notes, stamped by medical professionals, which kept me out of work for a month, no questions asked.
All I had to do was vaguely say I was stressed and needed time off and hand over my credit card information.
While I have no doubt that many people use these services for perfectly legitimate reasons, our simple research shows that a system is easy to abuse.
A quick Google search for the term ‘buy a sick note’ brings up two advertisements for London-based companies promising to provide the relevant paperwork.
The first, home2lab.co.uk, offers among its many services ‘Certificate/Note of Medical Illness in the Workplace’, same day service, a clipping for just £44, or £66 if you want a ‘priority service’.
I enter a few personal details, such as my name, address and date of birth, and mention my symptoms. I type in a single word: ‘stress’.
I pay (home2labs accepts all major credit and debit cards, as well as Apple and Google Pay) and within moments there’s an email in my inbox asking me to upload two things to Dropbox: a short video of between 30 seconds and a minute describing my ‘symptoms’ and a photo ID.
One of the sick notes Barney received, signing him off until May 19th
Another sick note given to Barney read: “I respectfully request that you consider his health and medical symptoms.”
With the camera on my phone I film myself saying something like: ‘I think I am suffering from stress and I would like to request a sick note.’ And that’s basically it.
I initially requested to be signed off for three months and received a follow-up email from the company (not from a doctor) stating: ‘As per our policy, sick notes are initially issued for a period of two weeks, subject to a doctor’s assessment and extension if deemed appropriate.
‘After reviewing the evidence you provided, our medical team is pleased to extend the duration of the sick note to one month.
‘However, please note that further evaluation will be carried out before the end of the initial illness period to assess the need for further extensions.’
I answer that a month would be fine. Within ten minutes I receive my sick note to download, confirming that I am too ill to work until May 19th.
It is claimed that my ‘medical condition’ is ‘stress-related symptoms’.
Under the heading ‘treatment plan’ it says: ‘This statement is proof of the patient’s medical condition.
‘I believe that, with appropriate treatment and time, the patient should be able to resume his duties and responsibilities.
“The patient has been advised to seek additional medical support if necessary. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or updates regarding the patient’s condition.”
It is signed by a GMC registered GP.
Home2Lab – apparently based in North London – offers 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
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’
The Updoc site adds: ‘Get your certification quickly and effortlessly without having to make an appointment’
Rishi Sunak warned in a major speech yesterday that a wave of people calling in sick with mental health conditions is putting ‘unsustainable’ pressure on the social security budget.
I could use this as official proof that I was too sick to work.
It’s even easier to get a sick note from the second company advertising this type of service. Updoc.co.uk asks me to complete a short questionnaire with similar personal details. There is a box where you can fill in your symptoms.
I say that I have been stressed for a month and need some free time. Within about 15 minutes, and £24.95 lighter, I receive my sick note stating that my medical history has been ‘reviewed’ and that I amdeclared unwell and unfit for work’ until May 3.
This is signed by a pharmacist.
An appropriate note, as the NHS now calls them, must be issued by a healthcare professional, but this could be a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist or occupational therapist.
The whole process took less than two hours.
I suppose if I was unwell I would have appreciated the simplicity and speed of the process.
With waiting times for a GP increasing, a service like this would have been a lifeline if I was truly in a mental health crisis.
But without good checks and balances, there will undoubtedly be people who abuse such a lax system.
Both home2labs and Updoc have been contacted for comment.