Get a Sick Note for Anxiety
Anxiety is a clinically valid reason to take time off work, issued by a UK GP with full sensitivity and confidentiality.
You should not have to explain yourself in a waiting room to get the documentation you need. Get a signed GP sick note most same day, all by 9AM next morning. No appointment needed.
✔ Anxiety, panic disorder, generalised anxiety and related conditions all covered.
✔ Treated with full clinical sensitivity and confidentiality.
✔ Most same day. All by 9AM next morning. From £47.
✔ Full refund if the GP cannot issue.
GET MY SICK NOTE 
Need ongoing documentation? See also our sick note, stress leave certificate and mental health support letter.
Get your medical certificate delivered straight to your inbox from £37
How It Works
Complete a short online questionnaire
No appointment required. Complete a short medical questionnaire and upload any supporting evidence.
Doctor reviews your evidence
A GMC-registered doctor reviews your submission individually. No automated approvals.
✔ Full refund if the GP cannot issue.
Receive your certificate
Certificates arrive most same day, all by 9AM next morning, delivered as a signed PDF direct to your inbox.
What our patients say
Verified reviews from real MedicalCert patients
Verified Patient
May 2025
Request at 10pm, certificate by 9am
Excellent service. Request was made at 10pm and turned around by 9am the next day. Very well written using the information provided.
Verified Patient
June 2025
Updated certificate sent free of charge
Amazing experience — got what I asked for in a short period of time, then they sent me an updated one with dates provided free of charge.
Marcus T.
January 2025
Sick note for work — professional and fast
My GP had a 3-week wait. MedicalCert issued a sick note within a few hours. The doctor was thorough, and my employer accepted it without question. Exactly what I needed.
Sick Note for Anxiety
Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people are signed off work in the UK — approximately one in three fit notes issued by GPs relates to a mental health condition, with anxiety, stress, and depression the leading causes. A sick note for anxiety is a medical document from a GMC-registered doctor confirming that your anxiety is affecting your ability to work and certifying a period of absence.
MedicalCert provides anxiety sick notes through GMC-registered UK doctors, issued the same day following an online clinical assessment. No GP appointment, no waiting room, no need to explain your situation face-to-face.
For general guidance on mental health sick notes — including the 7-day rule, sick pay entitlement, SSP changes from April 2026, your legal rights, and what the certificate contains — see our mental health sick note guide. This page covers what is specific to anxiety.
Can You Get a Sick Note for Anxiety?
Yes. Anxiety is a legitimate medical condition and a valid reason to be signed off work in the UK. Under UK employment law, mental health conditions are treated the same as physical illness — your employer cannot refuse to accept a valid sick note because the underlying condition is psychological rather than physical.
A GP does not need to diagnose a specific anxiety disorder to issue a sick note. If your symptoms are affecting your ability to do your job — whether through difficulty concentrating, panic attacks, severe sleep disruption, or an inability to face the workplace — a certificate can be issued where clinically appropriate.
The fit note will typically list the condition as “anxiety”, “anxiety and depression”, or “stress and anxiety” — keeping clinical detail to the minimum required while giving your employer the documentation they need. You are not required to share additional medical detail beyond what appears on the certificate.
Anxiety Symptoms That Affect Fitness for Work
A sick note is issued based on how your symptoms impact your ability to work — not on a formal diagnosis alone. The following are common presentations that a doctor considers when assessing whether a period of absence is clinically appropriate:
Panic attacksSudden episodes of intense fear, chest tightness, breathlessness, or dizziness that prevent safe attendance at work.
Concentration and cognitive impairmentInability to focus, racing thoughts, or decision-making difficulties that significantly reduce work capacity.
Sleep disruptionSevere insomnia or hyperarousal preventing restorative sleep, resulting in fatigue that makes work unsafe or unmanageable.
Agoraphobia or avoidanceAnxiety so severe it prevents leaving the house, commuting, or entering the workplace environment.
Workplace-triggered anxietySevere anxiety responses specifically triggered by work — meetings, interactions, deadlines, or the work environment itself.
Physical symptoms of anxietyHeadaches, nausea, chest pain, muscle tension, or gastrointestinal symptoms directly caused by anxiety.
Your Legal Rights — Anxiety and Sick Leave
Key protections under UK employment law
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): If you meet eligibility criteria, SSP of £118.75 per week is payable from the fourth consecutive day of absence, for up to 28 weeks. Anxiety-related absence qualifies in exactly the same way as physical illness.
Equality Act 2010: If your anxiety has had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your daily activities lasting 12 months or more, it may meet the definition of a disability — giving you additional protection against discrimination and entitlement to reasonable workplace adjustments. Recent case law (Williams v Newport City Council) has confirmed that severe workplace-triggered anxiety can qualify as a disability even where symptoms are primarily work-specific.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974: Employers have a statutory duty to protect the health, safety, and welfare of employees — this explicitly includes mental health. Where workplace conditions are causing or worsening your anxiety, your employer has a legal obligation to address this.
Employment Rights Act 1996: You cannot be dismissed solely for taking legitimate certified sick leave, including for anxiety. Dismissal in these circumstances may constitute unfair dismissal.
Confidentiality: Your employer cannot contact your doctor without your explicit written consent. Beyond what appears on the sick note itself, you are not required to disclose the details of your condition.
Returning to Work — Reasonable Adjustments for Anxiety
A sick note can include recommendations for workplace adjustments to support your return. If your anxiety meets the Equality Act disability threshold, your employer has a legal duty to consider reasonable adjustments. Even where it does not, employers have a general duty of care to support a safe return. ACAS guidance sets out examples of adjustments commonly made for anxiety:
If you need formal documentation of recommended workplace modifications upon your return, a work adjustment certificate provides a more detailed clinical basis for adjustment requests than a standard sick note.