At Liva, we understand that there may be instances where health coaches need to take time off for a holiday or sickness. We encourage coaches to make use of the flexible three-day window in which to deliver scheduled interventions, which allows for one to two days' absence without the need to change the members' intervention schedule.
Many of our programmes have a defined length and frequency, set out in our contractual agreement with the organisation we work with, for example, NHS England. Whilst there is a certain level of flexibility, we are expected to have members complete their programme within a defined window, with our payment from partners based on this. In addition, when a coach is absent for two or more weeks, it can lead to disengagement and dissatisfaction. We value our members' experience on our programmes and understand that gaps in coaching caused by coach absences can be very disruptive, which is why we have implemented the following absence policy.
For initial consultation cancellations, please refer to the cancellation policy.
To ensure accountability, senior health coaches and/or service managers will monitor instances of absences. Frequent absences that affect coaches' ability to deliver a programme according to schedule will be taken into consideration during supervision and performance reviews.
1. Holiday absences:
If a health coach needs time off for a holiday, they can book it through Advisor Web. Guidance can be found in the e-learning module ‘Absences’.
We expect that coaches will make every effort to inform their members of any upcoming absences, and let them know how to make use of the group support, and in-app help during their absence. Coaches can send a message to all members at once, using the ‘Message all’ tab on Advisor Web.
“Hi [name], I’ll be on holiday for the next week, so your next check-in from me will be later than usual. I’d encourage you to reach out for additional support in the group if you have any urgent questions, or you can contact our support team via the ? button in the app, or help@livahealth.com. I will really look forward to reading your updates when I am back”
To avoid disruption to members' coaching at the start of their programme, we ask that coaches do not onboard any new members in the 2 weeks leading up to an absence.
Any absences that are one week or less in length do not require any further discussion with a line manager. Any absences that will create a gap of two or more interventions for members must first be discussed with your senior health coach, who may then need to escalate further. To ensure that members can complete their programme in the required period, this may result in members being transferred to a new coach.
The process for agreeing on an extended absence is as follows.
1. Email your Senior Health coach with the following information included:
-Dates of proposed absence
-The programme and the number of members that will be impacted
2. The Senior Health Coach will discuss with the Coach Lead to approve the absence, with the following possible outcomes:
-Coach retains members, the senior health coach will send an interim message to all members to ensure a level of interaction
-Members will be transferred to a new coach. Coach will need to add in free slots to Google Calendar for their return to start onboarding again. Coaches should also make use of out-of-office features on Google and Slack to ensure that their senior health coach is aware that they are not available during this time.
2. Sickness absences
We encourage coaches to make use of the three-day window of flexibility for delivering interventions. If one day of sickness is required, this should be able to be managed without affecting the member's intervention schedule. For periods of sickness of more than one day, you need to inform a senior health coach and log the absence in Advisor Web. Using the 'Message All' feature of Advisor Web, coaches should make an effort to get in touch with members who will be impacted by their absence. If a coach is unable to access a computer due to sickness, a senior health coach can provide support.
If a period of sickness needs to be extended, coaches should contact their senior health coach before doing this, so that communication with the members can be discussed.
Where periods of sickness are expected to go beyond two weeks, a service manager will be in touch with the coach. Members may need to be transferred to a new coach to ensure that the intervention schedule is maintained and that the member may complete their programme in the required period. Service managers will work with coaches to determine whether they can return to work with any necessary adaptations, such as providing written interventions for a period or reducing the number of members they work with to more manageable levels to allow for shorter working periods.
If any initial consultations are affected by a period of sickness, please follow the Cancellation Policy.