Although employers generally try to apply consistent leave administration processes, in some situations, you may want to consider approving an employee’s leave without requiring them to submit a Serious Health Condition (SHC) form for that specific leave. Cocoon gives you the flexibility to waive this SHC requirement directly from your Dashboard—making it easier to move forward with leave approval when appropriate.
As always, considerations driving leave decisions are very company and leave specific, so please partner with internal or external leave counsel to see if waiving an SHC makes sense for you in a particular leave or situation.
When might I consider waiving the SHC form?
There are scenarios where employers sometimes consider waiving the SHC form, including:
They already have sufficient documentation or internal knowledge confirming the employee’s condition and need for leave and do not wish to unnecessarily burden the employee by requiring an SHC.
They want to move quickly on approval due to a particular operational situation or concern.
They want to alleviate the pressures or anxieties employees are experiencing in connection with a particular leave (e.g., one that might involve an employee’s own or a family member’s medical emergency or life-threatening condition).
The employee requested a very short and isolated leave with relatively light operational impact and may even already have returned to work.
They’ve had a conversation with the employee and are comfortable proceeding without further documentation.
Waiving the SHC form can help streamline the leave process, communicate empathy and trust, and reduce burdens on you, employees, and healthcare providers, while still maintaining compliance and support for your employees.
What happens when I waive the SHC form requirement in Cocoon?
The leave is approved for the full duration the employee requested without the employee submitting an SHC form.
The recertification flow in Cocoon will be paused for the next 12 months—starting from the leave start date for continuous leaves, or from the first absence date for intermittent leaves.
The employee’s task list will still reflect any claim-related tasks, such as filing with the state, but will no longer include any SHC form-related tasks.
The claims process is not affected—this action only impacts the SHC documentation that supports leave approvals.
Annual certifications are not affected—Cocoon’s software will still request them in appropriate leave circumstances.
How to waive the SHC form and approve a leave
To waive the SHC form and approve a leave:
Log in to your Cocoon dashboard.
Navigate to the employee's leave request that you want to approve.
3. When you click into the leave you'd like to review, you'll notice the 'Review' button is grayed out. This is because the employee has not yet uploaded a Serious Health Condition form.
4. To bypass and review you can select the link: “Do you want to approve this leave and waive the form?”
5. A confirmation screen will appear showing:
The leave dates (note: these cannot be edited).
A field to leave an optional note. This is only visible to the Admin team.
A warning banner reminding you that waiving the SHC documentation may impact your right to receive this form and medical information and the system will not prompt the employee to submit a recertification like it normally would.
You must check the box to confirm: “I confirm that I approve this leave request and understand that no Serious Health Condition document is required.”
Click Next, then Confirm Approval.
6. A confirmation notice will appear and the employee will receive an email letting them know their leave is approved.
The full leave is now approved without the SHC requirement.
By using this feature, you can ensure your leave process is both flexible and supportive in cases where additional documentation isn’t necessary.