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sick note

British  

noun

  1. informal a document given to an employer certifying that an employee's absence from work of more than four days was due to illness. If the absence is for more than seven days the note must be signed by a doctor See also self-certification

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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Others called signing people off work "a dirty task" and argued it was not their job to "police the sick note system".

From BBC Mar. 11, 2026

GPs used to be the only healthcare professionals able to sign a sick note.

From BBC Apr. 20, 2024

I had a commission — to write an essay about marble — that was a sort of sick note, an excuse to abscond from writing anything else.

From New York Times Apr. 19, 2022

So they again have written themselves a sick note.

From Washington Post Jan. 27, 2020

“I need a sick note for today,” I say.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

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