Sick Note for Bereavement
Medical documentation for bereavement leave, issued by a UK GP with full sensitivity and confidentiality.
Grief can make it impossible to work, and your employer may require documentation. Get a signed GP letter without having to explain yourself in a waiting room.
✔ Covers grief, acute bereavement and the psychological impact of loss.
✔ Treated with full clinical sensitivity and confidentiality.
✔ Most same day. All by 9AM next morning. From £47.
✔ Full refund if we can't issue one.
GET MY SICK NOTE 
Need longer-term support documentation? See also our 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 Bereavement — Can You Get One?
Losing someone close to you can make it genuinely impossible to work. If your employer’s compassionate leave has run out — or if your grief has become severe enough to affect your health — you may need a sick note. The short answer is yes, you can get one.
Yes — you can get a sick note for bereavement
Grief that causes genuine medical incapacity — inability to sleep, concentrate, function, or leave the house — can be certified by a GMC-registered doctor. You do not need to be formally diagnosed with depression or anxiety. The doctor assesses your current functional state and, where appropriate, certifies your absence.
MedicalCert issues bereavement sick notes through GMC-registered UK doctors, same day, with no appointment. There is no waiting room, no commute, and no need to explain yourself face to face at a time when that is the last thing you need.
Can You Get a Sick Note for Bereavement from the NHS?
This is the question most people arrive here asking — and the honest answer is: sometimes, but often not easily. NHS GPs do not automatically issue sick notes for bereavement, for two reasons:
First, bereavement itself is not a medical diagnosis. UK government guidance to healthcare professionals explicitly states that “bereavement” cannot be written as a diagnosis on a fit note. What can be written is the medical impact — “distress due to bereavement,” “acute stress reaction,” or “depression” — if the doctor assesses that grief has crossed into genuine medical incapacity.
Second, NHS GPs are under significant appointment pressure and completing private medical certificates and sick notes sits outside their NHS contract. Many GP practices now have explicit policies stating that bereavement sick notes are an HR matter, not a medical one, and will decline to issue them. You may be told to request compassionate leave from your employer instead.
NHS GP
- ✔Free if they agree
- ✗Many practices now decline bereavement notes
- ✗Appointment required — often days away
- ✗May tell you to request compassionate leave instead
- ✗Attending a surgery when bereaved is distressing
MedicalCert private doctor
- ✔Same day — no appointment, fully online
- ✔GMC-registered doctor, clinically valid certificate
- ✔Assessed on medical impact, not just bereavement label
- ✔Full refund if a certificate cannot be issued
- ✔Complete from home, without explaining yourself in person
What Does a Bereavement Sick Note Actually Say?
Because “bereavement” cannot be written as a medical diagnosis on a fit note, your certificate will use clinically accurate wording that reflects the genuine medical impact of your loss. Depending on what the doctor assesses, the wording may be:
Common clinical wording for bereavement sick notes
“Distress due to bereavement” — the most commonly used phrasing. Recognised by employers and HR teams as a bereavement-related certificate.
“Bereavement reaction” — similar clinical framing, used where the acute psychological response to loss is the primary impairment.
“Acute stress reaction” — used where grief has caused a significant psychological shock response, particularly in cases of sudden or traumatic loss.
“Depression” — used where grief has developed into a clinically significant depressive episode. This is appropriate where the impact on function is severe and sustained.
Your employer will understand the context. The certificate does not need to say “bereavement” — the clinical wording conveys the same meaning in a format that is both medically accurate and legally valid for employment purposes.
Bereavement Sick Note vs Compassionate Leave — When Do You Need Which?
Compassionate leave and a sick note serve different purposes. Most people need the sick note only after compassionate leave has been exhausted — or where their employer has no formal bereavement policy.
Compassionate / bereavement leave
Granted by your employer as an HR arrangement. Typically 3–5 days, sometimes more. Usually paid. No doctor’s certificate required. Appropriate for the immediate period after a death — registering, arranging the funeral, practical tasks.
Does not require medical evidence. Does not enable SSP.
Bereavement sick note
Required when compassionate leave has ended but you remain medically unfit to return — or where grief has caused acute incapacity that your employer’s leave policy doesn’t cover. Requires medical certification from a GMC-registered doctor.
Enables SSP. From 6 April 2026, SSP is payable from day one of certified absence.
If your employer has no formal compassionate leave policy, a sick note certifies your incapacity on medical grounds from day one — your employer cannot lawfully refuse a valid certificate from a GMC-registered doctor, regardless of whether they offer compassionate leave.
What Your Bereavement Sick Note Includes
Certificate contents
- ✔Your full name, date of birth, and contact details
- ✔Clinical wording confirming incapacity — “distress due to bereavement,” “bereavement reaction,” or similar
- ✔Certified period of absence — start and end date
- ✔“Not fit for work” assessment, or “may be fit for work” with adjustments where appropriate
- ✔GMC registration number of the signing doctor
- ✔Unique QR code for employer verification
How to Get a Bereavement Sick Note Online
The process is entirely online. You do not need to explain yourself in person or attend a surgery. When you are grieving, that matters.
Complete a short online consultation
Describe how your bereavement is affecting you — your sleep, your ability to function, your capacity to attend work. You do not need clinical language. Be honest about how you are. The doctor will assess the medical impact from your account. Upload any supporting information if you have it — though for bereavement this is often not required.
A GMC-registered doctor reviews your case
One of our experienced GPs reviews your submission the same day and assesses whether your grief has caused genuine medical incapacity warranting a sick note. If a certificate cannot be clinically supported, you receive a full refund.
Certificate delivered to your inbox
Your signed certificate arrives same day (submit before 9pm) or by 9am the following morning. Forward it directly to your employer or HR. You do not need to explain the clinical wording — your employer will understand what it means.