Employers and health experts have given a mixed welcome to the final version of the "fit note" which is set to replace doctors’ sick notes for employees in April.

Doctors will be given a straight choice between pronouncing a patient "not fit for work" and "fit for some work". If the latter, there will be a tick list of four courses of action which the doctor can recommend for a patient’s return to work: phased return to work, amended duties, altered hours and workplace adaptations. There will be a free-form "comments" box for when a doctor thinks another option is more appropriate.