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. No appointment needed.
✔ Anxiety, panic disorder, generalised anxiety and related conditions all covered.
✔ Treated with full clinical sensitivity and confidentiality.
✔ Most Same day or by 9AM next morning. From £47.
✔ Full refund if the GP cannot issue.
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Accepted by most UK employers, universities and insurers, subject to their own policies. All consultations are subject to clinical assessment and certificates are issued only where clinically appropriate.
Need ongoing documentation? See also our sick note for work, stress leave certificate and mental health support letter.
Get your medical certificate delivered straight to your inbox from £47
How It Works
Complete short online consult
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.
✔ Full refund if a certificate cannot be issued.
Receive your certificate
Most certificates are issued same day, almost all by 9AM the next morning. Delivered as a signed PDF. A doctor will email you if more evidence is needed.
Certificate security
Every MedicalCert certificate can be checked as genuine
Each certificate is issued with anti-tampering protection and its own verification reference. If your employer, university, airline or insurer wants to confirm the document came from a GMC-registered doctor, they can check it against MedicalCert records. Altered or copied documents do not pass that check.
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MedicalCert issues certificates. It is not an urgent or emergency service and it is not a substitute for urgent care. Call 999 or go to A&E now if anyone's life is at risk, for example if someone has seriously injured themselves or taken an overdose, or if you do not feel you can keep yourself or someone else safe. For urgent mental health support that is not life threatening, call 111 and select the mental health option, or use 111 online. Samaritans are free to call, day or night, on 116 123. Under 19s can call Childline on 0800 1111.
Sick Note for Anxiety
Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people are signed off work in the UK. In the NHS England data on certificates issued by GP practices, mental and behavioural disorders are the largest single recorded diagnosis group, but around three quarters of records carry no diagnosis at all, so the true share is not known. 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, most approved same day, following an online clinical assessment. No GP appointment and no waiting room. Assessment starts with a written consultation form, and the reviewing doctor will contact you by video or telephone only if that is necessary to complete a safe assessment.
For general guidance on mental health sick notes, including the 7-day rule, current SSP entitlement, your legal rights, and what the certificate contains, see our mental health sick note guide. This page covers what is specific to anxiety.
GMC-registered doctors | Most approved same day | Full refund if we cannot issue
Can You Get a Sick Note for Anxiety?
Yes. Anxiety is a legitimate medical condition and a valid reason for sickness absence where symptoms significantly affect your ability to work. A doctor must assess the severity, duration and impact before issuing a certificate. For sick pay and sickness absence purposes, mental health conditions are treated in the same way as physical illness. An employer should not apply a stricter evidence standard because the underlying condition is psychological, but acceptance of a private certificate is still governed by their absence policy.
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 certificate 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.
How Long Can You Be Signed Off Work with Anxiety?
There is no legal maximum period. Duration is determined by clinical assessment, the type and severity of your anxiety, its functional impact on work, and your recovery progress. The NHS does not publish recovery timescales for anxiety. It says only that treatment can help you manage your symptoms, but that it may take time. The ranges below are illustrative examples of how absence is sometimes structured. They are general information, not a prognosis, and no timescale can be predicted for any individual without an assessment.
| Anxiety type | Illustrative range, not a prediction | What the doctor considers |
|---|---|---|
| Acute anxiety episode | 1 to 2 weeks | Recent trigger, significant but short-term functional impairment. Recovery often depends on whether the trigger has passed and on the support available. |
| Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) | 2 to 6 weeks initially, reviewed ongoing | Persistent worry, sleep disruption, and cognitive impairment affecting daily function. Return is often supported by adjustments such as phased hours or working from home. |
| Workplace-triggered anxiety | 2 to 8 weeks or longer | Anxiety closely tied to a specific workplace situation. Duration may depend on whether the trigger can be resolved or adjusted. Reasonable adjustments on return are common. |
| Severe or chronic anxiety | 3 to 6 months or longer | Agoraphobia, panic disorder, or anxiety preventing basic daily function. Care at this level belongs with your own GP or an NHS mental health service rather than a remote certification service. Equality Act disability protections may apply. |
Statutory Sick Pay is available for up to 28 weeks of certified absence at whichever is lower of £123.25 per week and 80% of average weekly earnings, payable from day one under the current rules. Each MedicalCert certificate covers up to 14 days, with extensions issued as clinically needed.
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:
Sudden episodes of intense fear, chest tightness, breathlessness, or dizziness that prevent safe attendance at work.
Inability to focus, racing thoughts, or decision-making difficulties that significantly reduce work capacity.
Severe insomnia or hyperarousal preventing restorative sleep, resulting in fatigue that makes work unsafe or unmanageable.
Anxiety so severe it prevents leaving the house, commuting, or entering the workplace environment.
Severe anxiety responses specifically triggered by work, meetings, interactions, deadlines, or the work environment itself.
Headaches, nausea, chest pain, muscle tension, or gastrointestinal symptoms directly caused by anxiety.
A certificate records time away from work. It is not treatment. The NHS offers talking therapies for anxiety, including cognitive behavioural therapy, and adults in England can refer themselves to an NHS talking therapies service without going through a GP. If your symptoms are getting worse, or treatment you are already having is not helping, speak to your own GP. See NHS guidance on generalised anxiety disorder.
Your Legal Rights: Anxiety and Sick Leave
Key protections under UK employment law
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): SSP is payable from your first day of certified absence, with no waiting days, at whichever is lower of £123.25 per week and 80% of average weekly earnings for up to 28 weeks. The lower earnings limit has been removed, all employees qualify regardless of their weekly earnings. Anxiety-related absence qualifies in exactly the same way as physical illness. See GOV.UK Statutory Sick Pay for full eligibility details.
Equality Act 2010: Under section 6, a person is disabled if a physical or mental impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. "Substantial" means more than minor or trivial. "Long-term" means the effect has lasted at least 12 months, is likely to last at least 12 months, or is likely to last for the rest of the person's life. Where a substantial effect stops but is likely to recur, it is treated as continuing, which matters for anxiety that comes and goes. Where the definition is met, you are protected against discrimination and your employer must make reasonable adjustments. The statutory guidance issued under section 6(5) treats general work-related activities, such as interacting with colleagues, following instructions, or keeping to a shift pattern, as normal day-to-day activities, although highly specialised work tasks are not. Whether any individual meets the definition turns on the facts of their case.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974: Section 2(1) requires every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees. The Act does not name mental health, but the Health and Safety Executive treats work-related mental health issues as a hazard that must be assessed like any other, with steps taken to remove or reduce the risk so far as is reasonably practicable. Where working conditions are causing or worsening your anxiety, that duty applies.
Dismissal during sickness absence: Being off sick with certified anxiety does not make dismissal automatically unlawful. Capability, which includes ill health, is a potentially fair reason for dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996, but an employer must follow a fair process first. ACAS guidance indicates this normally means obtaining up to date medical evidence with your consent, consulting you, considering reasonable adjustments or alternative work, and considering how long the absence is likely to continue. Dismissal that skips those steps may be unfair, and dismissal because of a disability may also be discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010. Eligibility to bring an unfair dismissal claim depends on your length of service and the qualifying rules in force at the time, so check the current position on GOV.UK or with ACAS. This is general information, not legal advice.
Medical reports and confidentiality: Under the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, an employer cannot apply for a medical report from a doctor who is or has been responsible for your clinical care, for employment purposes, unless it has told you it intends to apply and you have consented. You must also be told of your right to see the report, and you can ask to see it before it goes to your employer. Beyond what appears on the certificate 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 must make reasonable adjustments where a workplace practice, policy or physical feature puts you at a substantial disadvantage compared with someone who is not disabled. Even where the threshold is not met, employers have a general duty of care to support a safe return. GOV.UK and ACAS guidance set 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.
Anxiety Sick Note FAQs
Most approved same day | Full refund if we cannot issue
Legislation and Guidance Referenced
The legal and employment information on this page is drawn from the following authoritative UK sources:
📚 Referenced sources
- 💰 Statutory Sick Pay, GOV.UK: current rate £123.25/week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, payable from day one of absence, lower earnings limit removed. gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay
- ⚖️ Equality Act 2010, GOV.UK: mental health and disability definition; employer duty to make reasonable adjustments. gov.uk/equality-act-2010-guidance
- 🏛️ Equality Act 2010, statutory guidance on the definition of disability, GOV.UK: issued under section 6(5). Covers substantial and long-term effects, recurrence, and work-related activities as normal day-to-day activities. gov.uk
- 💼 ACAS, mental health and the workplace: guidance on employer obligations, reasonable adjustments, and managing mental health absence sensitively. acas.org.uk/supporting-mental-health-workplace
- 📄 Dismissals, GOV.UK: fair and unfair reasons for dismissal, including capability on health grounds, and the process an employer must follow. gov.uk/dismissal
- 🩺 General Medical Council, remote consultations: standards requiring a doctor to be satisfied they can make an adequate assessment before prescribing or certifying remotely. gmc-uk.org
- 📋 Fit notes, GOV.UK: employer obligations when receiving fit notes from registered healthcare professionals. gov.uk/government/collections/fit-note
- 🧠 NHS, where to get urgent help for mental health: when to call 999 or go to A&E, when to call 111 and select the mental health option, and free listening services including Samaritans on 116 123. nhs.uk
- 🧮 Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, legislation.gov.uk: notification and consent before an employer applies to your own doctor for a medical report, and your right to see it. legislation.gov.uk
- 🧰 HSE, mental health conditions, work and the workplace: employer duties under health and safety law, and assessing work-related mental health risk. hse.gov.uk
