Employees can adjust their leave dates before or during a leave to accommodate unexpected changes like medical complications, extended treatment plans (as certified by a healthcare professional), or family care plan changes.
Read on to see what steps you and your employees might need to take should their leave plans change.
How do employees update leave dates in Cocoon?
Employees can log in to their Cocoon Dashboard and select Edit plan.
From there, they will reselect their leave dates. Cocoon will prompt employees to provide a reason for the change to better understand their situation and ensure the change is absolutely necessary. Employees can select a reason from the dropdown list, or choose Other and type the reason into the text box.
Once employees confirm the changes, we’ll notify you and their manager of the changes via email.
Why is it important for employees to keep their leave dates updated?
Employees’ leave dates must be kept up to date in Cocoon for employees’ leave forms and claim information to be accurate. If their dates in Cocoon do not align with their actual leave dates, they could experience pay issues or delays. If their date changes impact an active claim, or include new coverage from a benefit program, they will need to personally inform all applicable claim entities of the dates.
What actions do employees need to take if they adjust their leave dates?
If their claim[s] has not yet been filed:
Update leave dates in Cocoon
Re-download your leave forms and get an updated medical certification from their provider
Upload their completed leave forms to the Documents section of their Dashboard
Cocoon will submit the updated leave forms to finalize their claim submission(s) with the applicable entities
If their claim[s] has already been filed:
Update leave dates in Cocoon
Identify the applicable claim entities via their Cocoon dashboard
Reach out to each entity and inform them of the change or extension to their leave dates
If the applicable claim is disability related, employees may need to reach out to their medical provider to request they submit an updated medical certification or supporting medical documentation to the appropriate claim entities
Cocoon provides instructions to employees on how to identify and contact these entities
What actions do I need to take if employees adjust their leave dates?
If the date change applies to dates in the past, please make sure any of your internal records outside Cocoon correspond correctly with the new dates.
Why can't Cocoon contact claim entities for employees?
Due to the privacy restrictions and sensitivity surrounding disability claims, Cocoon is unable to contact claim entities and make changes to employees’ claims on their behalf. State programs and private insurance carriers require that these changes come directly from the recipient of benefits to protect your privacy and protect against fraudulent claims. Cocoon provides employees guidance through this process, and employees can contact our Support Team at any point for extra help if needed.
Can employees request additional time after their leave has ended?
Employees can request additional leaves (either for the same reason or a new one) as long as they have not exhausted available time according to applicable laws or your company policies.
If an employee’s leave ended 30 days ago or more: they can click the Create new plan button on their Cocoon Dashboard as shown below.
If their leave ended less than 30 days ago: employees can click the Edit plan button on their Cocoon dashboard. From there, they’ll be prompted to create a new leave.
Changes to leave dates in the past
Employees are able to adjust past dates. In an effort to mitigate accidental date changes, however, Cocoon will block any attempt to remove three or more weeks of prior taken leave time and tell the employee to contact their employer.
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