Sick notes ‘scrapped’ under plans to reduce benefit claimants
The UK government is trialing a new approach to reduce the number of people on sick leave by scrapping traditional sick notes. Instead, patients will be referred to support services that create personalized return-to-work plans. This initiative aims to address the shortcomings of the current fit note system, which has been criticized for being ineffective.
- ▪GPs will stop issuing sick notes as part of a new trial to reduce health-related unemployment.
- ▪The trial will initially affect hundreds of thousands of workers in four locations across England.
- ▪The Department for Work and Pensions aims to create personalized return-to-work plans for patients.
The Independent (UK) publishes from United Kingdom and files mainly under news. We currently carry 811 of its stories.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
NewsUKHome NewsSick notes ‘scrapped’ under plans to reduce benefit claimants‘Fit notes are too often a dead end’, the work and pensions secretary saidAlbert Toth Wednesday 20 May 2026 16:35 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2980291","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gp-sick-notes-dwp-trial-nhs-benefit-claimants-b2980291.html","title":"Sick notes ‘scrapped’ under plans to reduce benefit claimants"}}New Health Secretary James Murray arrives at Downing StreetYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Independent.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from The Independent
