What’s new in Cocoon October 2025
This month’s updates are ones both HR admins and employees will love, driven directly by your feedback (thank you!) We’re always listening and always iterating to make leave management simpler, more transparent, and more human. These latest improvements are all about helping you see what matters, more easily than ever before—whether across custom emails, intermittent leave details, or leave documents—so everyone touching a leave can not only find what they need, but also see it exactly how they want to.
Policy trends
Median leave policies have remained flat after a surge following COVID
Our latest data shows leave policies holding steady since their post-pandemic expansion, reflecting their new status as a core benefit rather than a perk.
16 weeks
Median paid parental leave for birthing parents
12 weeks
Median paid parental leave for non-birthing parents
6 weeks
Median paid medical and caregiver leave for employees
Jump to: Parental leave • Medical leave • Caregiver leave
Send the right message at the right time with custom automated emails
What it is: Custom email creator
Who it's for: HR Admins
What it does: Automated emails provide just-in-time information or confirmation as soon as someone triggers them. But when they appear automated or don’t come at the right time, things get lost in translation. Enter our new custom email creator.
HR admins can create and customize their own automated emails that go straight to leave-takers from Cocoon, based on what type of leave they are taking and where they are in the process.
For now, you can trigger messages when a leave is submitted, and soon we hope to expand to more moments—like the first day of leave or an employee’s return to work.
💡 This feature is in beta—we’d love your feedback to shape what comes next!
Smoother and smarter
intermittent leave interactions
With each intermittent leave following a completely different schedule and strategy, we took your feedback to make information easier to see, download, and make decisions about.
Download leave details with one click
Need to run your own analysis or condense intermittent leave details like date, hours, and approval status into one file? One click and they’re exported as a .csv so you can customize the data and use it in the format you need.
One consolidated pay file
Instead of multiple adjustment files when changes occur, you’ll now receive one consolidated pay file—making reconciliation easier and faster without needing to call in payroll support.
Spot overages and deficiencies
Admins now get a better preview of potential overages and a new option to decide what happens if an employee doesn’t resolve an issue with their leave request or SHC form.
Stop searching for that file!
All leave documents are now unified
What it is: Documents tab
Who it’s for: HR Admins
All leave documents in one place
Every file related to a given leave now lives in a dedicated Documents tab in the individual “Leave details” view of your Admin Dashboard. See who uploaded each one, and which compliance notices Cocoon has sent the employee for full visibility and peace of mind.
Better visibility and planning for leave-takers
across mobile devices and holidays
These improvements were made based on feedback directly from leave-takers to make key tasks and documents easily accessible, and showing them holidays to take into account for leave planning.
What it is: My Tasks dashboard on mobile
Who it's for: Leave takers
Check and update tasks on the go
During leave, many employees spend less time at a computer and need things more accessible from their phone. Now they can check any pending to-dos for leave, and easily access and upload documents on the go.
What it is: Holiday visibility in leave timeline
Who it’s for: Leave Takers
See how holidays play into leave plans
Leave-takers were unsure about how holidays interacted with their leave time and pay, so now they’re clearer to see and understand on the timeline.
Stay tuned for more
From industry-leading product launches and feedback-driven tweaks, we’re committed to making Cocoon the easiest and most intuitive way to manage any kind of leave. That’s why we’re always listening to your feedback and taking into account the different nuances and complexities each leave can bring. Keep an eye out for more updates by subscribing to our blog or following us on LinkedIn for announcements and opportunities to share your feedback.