A better approach to intermittent FMLA leave tracking

Anyone who has administered a leave (especially without Cocoon) knows how antiquated the system is. This can be even trickier and more time-intensive for intermittent leaves, which can be somewhat unpredictable, but still require consistent tracking. Luckily, Cocoon gives you just the right tools to stay on top of intermittent leave tracking and management. Guided by Staff Product Manager, Alice Luu, we’ll walk you through our approach to intermittent medical and caregiver leaves, why it’s a game-changer, and how we built it with simplicity and visibility in mind.

What is an intermittent leave?

In a nutshell, an intermittent leave is an FMLA leave taken in varying, inconsistent, or sometimes unpredictable blocks of time for a single qualifying reason, often in time increments shorter than a single workday. Or, an employee might work a consistent but reduced schedule. This is in contrast to a continuous leave, where a leave-taker is fully away for the entire length of the leave. For example, if an employee has a medical condition that flares up, they might take intermittent medical leave to receive treatment and flow between working and recovering as their condition fluctuates.

Check out our intermittent leave guide to learn more about what it is, qualifying conditions, tracking requirements, and more.

Why is tracking intermittent leave so hard?

Though it’s tough to perfectly plan and schedule any leave, some medical and caregiver leaves might be more unpredictable than, say, a parental or bonding leave. There will be some things you can plan for (like a scheduled appointment) and some things you cannot (like a sudden wave of debilitating nausea). Because the FMLA allows up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave, diligently tracking intermittent leaves is important so a leave-taker only uses the time they need, and so employers can keep track along with them.

Unfortunately, many intermittent leaves are tracked and reviewed manually, making them prone to errors, extra work, and delays. Inconsistencies in tracking also means pay calculations and compliance can get off-track, too—which are typically the hardest problems to resolve. Even if a third-party provider is managing your leaves, that doesn’t quite solve the issue, because then it puts the reasons for leave, approvals, and schedules into a black box. That often leaves People teams, managers, and employees in the dark about what’s going on and how decisions were made. This can be disruptive for business overall, but especially for team and work cohesion.

But where there are tough problems, there are big opportunities—which is why we think employers and employees alike will benefit from our approach to intermittent leave tracking.

How does intermittent leave tracking work in Cocoon?

Across many conversations with key partners, customer champions, and our Legal Team, it was clear we could simplify the way intermittent leave gets tracked and communicated, with more compliance guardrails, while putting admins in the driver's seat for clearer and better decision-making. In Cocoon, this means:

• Leave-takers can enter their time away down to one-minute intervals whenever it’s convenient for them.
• Cocoon sends prompt reminders for time reporting to the leave-taker so managers and People Teams don’t have to.
• Admins can easily review each leave request and corresponding medical documents to make informed decisions (see how it works here).
• Cocoon automatically approves absences that are reported in connection with an approved leave to avoid approval bottlenecks.
• As time gets reported, pay tracking updates automatically in Cocoon for accurate calculations.
• Cocoon reconciles time away with what was projected to flag any potential issues so employers can address changed circumstances with employees.
• Cocoon is a one-stop-shop for tracking FMLA balances and managing intermittent leaves alongside all others.

Let’s see it as an example

1. Denise is taking intermittent FMLA medical leave. 
2. Her doctor has estimated that she will be away from work for a full week, then about three times a week for two hours at a time for the next month. 
3. For scheduled appointments, or when taking time away for recovery, Denise reports leave time taken after the fact when it’s convenient for her. 
4. She forgets to enter her times twice in the pay period, but Cocoon notifies her so she can submit it in time to not impact her next paycheck.
5. After two weeks, it’s looking more like Denise is taking three hours at a time so Cocoon flags this for her and an HR admin to discuss. 
6. She gets an updated doctor’s note and devises a new schedule that works better for her and the team.
7. After 35 days, Denise returns to work. 
8. Though she needed a little more time than what was originally projected, because of the proactive steps and accurate time tracking in the meantime, everybody was on the same page.

Why Cocoon’s approach to intermittent leave tracking is an evolution (and will continue to evolve)

A layer deeper than mere product functionality is our unique approach to automating intermittent leave management, while still giving employers visibility for better decision-making. When done in-house without the right tools, People Teams and managers get bogged down in manual work reviewing spreadsheets or nudging employees to submit them. Yet completely outsourcing leave management to a third-party creates a black box around why someone was, is, or will be away or back at work and why. With Cocoon automating things like entitlements, pay tracking, and sending reminders, employers have all the information at their fingertips to make decisions appropriate for the situation to ultimately support leave-takers and their teams—without the taking on more tedious tasks. 

In the short term, we plan to add capabilities to simplify tracking for future and recurring appointments and help admins request additional medical documents—so be on the lookout for them soon! In the long term, we plan to guide employers to be consistent in how they make decisions and have a history of decisions that lives in Cocoon. With improved and more automated intermittent leave tracking, leave-takers can track their time and know where they stand, all in a few clicks. People Teams can better manage intermittent leaves with the information they need to stay equipped and supportive when things don’t go according to plan or they’re in a new situation—ultimately giving everyone the peace of mind they need.