Sick Note

A History of the British Welfare State

Gareth Millward (Research Fellow, Research Fellow, University of Birmingham)

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English

Oxford University Press
01 December 2022

Social & cultural history; Welfare & benefit systems; Health systems & services

Sick Note shows how the question of 'who is really sick?' has never been straightforward and will continue to perplex the British state.

Sick Note is a history of how the British state asked, 'who is really sick?' Tracing medical certification for absence from work from 1948 to 2010, Gareth Millward shows that doctors, employers, employees, politicians, media commentators, and citizens concerned themselves with measuring sickness. At various times, each understood that a signed note from a doctor was not enough to 'prove' whether someone was really sick. Yet, with no better alternative on offer, the sick note survived in practice and in the popular imagination - just like the welfare state itself.

Sick Note reveals the interplay between medical, employment, and social security policy. The physical note became an integral part of working and living in Britain, while the term 'sick note' was often deployed rhetorically as a mocking nickname or symbol of Britain's economic and political troubles. Using government policy documents, popular media, internet archives, and contemporary research, Millward covers the evolution of medical certification and the welfare state since the Second World War, demonstrating how sickness and disability policies responded to demographic and economic changes - though not always satisfactorily for administrators or claimants. Moreover, despite the creation of 'the fit note' in 2010, the idea of 'the sick note' has remained. With the specific challenges posed by the global pandemic in the early 2020s, Sick Note shows how the question of 'who is really sick?' has never been straightforward and will continue to perplex the British state.

By: Gareth Millward (Research Fellow Research Fellow University of Birmingham)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 544g
ISBN: 9780192865748
ISBN 10: 0192865749
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 December 2022
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1: Introduction 2: The 'birth' of the sick note 3: Absenteeism and postwar rebuilding 4: Chauvinists and breadwinners in the 'classic welfare state' 5: Privatization? The sick note into the 1980s 6: Chronicity and capacity towards the new millennium 7: The 'death' of the sick note? 8: Conclusion

Gareth Millward is a historian of the postwar British welfare state, focusing particularly on medical and social security policy. He has previously worked at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of Warwick. Following his PhD on the history of disability organizations and government policy, he has also published on the histories of the British vaccination system and sickness benefits.

Reviews for Sick Note: A History of the British Welfare State

Between the book's deft and attractive opening and its fine conclusion there is much to enjoy. * Druin Burch, Times Literary Supplement * Fascinating * BBC History Magazine * REVIEW: Journal of Contemporary History 59, May 2024. Quote loaded: 29/05/2024.