Coaching Terms and Conditions Template UK

Clear coaching terms and conditions protect you, your clients and your business. They explain what coaching is (and is not), set expectations for cancellations and payment, and make sure you meet your legal duties as a UK coach working with consumers.

For a complete set of ready-to-use documents, see our wellness coaching contract templates.

Why Coaches Need Written Terms

Many coaches start with an informal approach – a friendly email, a Stripe link and a Zoom calendar invite. That works until something goes wrong. Common problems include:

Clients assuming coaching is therapy or medical treatment.
Confusion about refunds when someone cancels late or stops showing up.
Disputes about what was promised and what results were "guaranteed".
Complaints about how personal data or session notes are handled.

Written coaching terms put the important points in black and white. For UK consumer clients, they also help you comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

Explaining What Coaching Is – and Is Not

One of the most important sections in your terms is the description of coaching itself. For life, wellbeing and personal coaching, you should explain:

Coaching is a thought-provoking, creative process that supports personal development, mindset and self-awareness.
It can help clients identify goals, explore options, overcome obstacles and take action.

You then need to be equally clear about what coaching is not:

It is not medical, psychological, therapeutic, financial, legal or other regulated professional advice.
It is not a substitute for counselling, psychotherapy, psychiatry, physiotherapy, nutrition/dietetic advice, medical treatment or crisis support.
You do not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or condition, make clinical recommendations or tell clients to start, stop or change medication.

That clarity protects clients from relying on coaching in situations where they need regulated support, and it reduces your risk if a client later alleges you were "acting like a therapist" or giving medical or financial advice.

No Guaranteed Outcomes

Coaching is not a magic wand. Your terms should say that explicitly. For example:

You cannot and do not guarantee specific outcomes, such as changes in health, weight, mood, income, relationships or life circumstances.
Results depend on many factors outside your control, including the client's own choices, circumstances and level of commitment.
Any case studies or testimonials are for illustration only and do not predict or promise similar results.

This protects you from unrealistic expectations and possible complaints if a client does not achieve the change they hoped for.

Safety, Suitability and Boundaries

Your terms should ask clients to take responsibility for deciding whether coaching is suitable for them, and to seek appropriate professional advice where needed. For example, you can require clients to:

Confirm they are over 18 and choosing to take part voluntarily.
Tell you about any medical or mental-health conditions, medication or other factors that might affect their ability to participate safely.
Agree that you may pause or end the programme if you believe continuing would not be safe or appropriate, and that you may signpost them to other sources of support.

You should also commit to clear boundaries and safeguarding: stating that you will keep information confidential except where the law or safety concerns require you to share it, for example if you believe there is a risk of serious harm.

Sessions, Scheduling and Missed Appointments

Clients need simple, firm rules about how sessions work. Your terms should cover:

How session details (number, length, frequency, start date, bonuses) are set out in a separate Programme Outline.
How rescheduling works – for example, at least 48 hours' notice to move a session, and late cancellations or no-shows being treated as taken with no refund or replacement.
For group programmes, the fact that missing a live call does not entitle them to a 1:1 replacement, and that access to replays or communities is time-limited.

This keeps your calendar manageable and reduces arguments about missed sessions.

Fees, Deposits and Payment Plans

Money is a common source of friction, so your terms should be very clear about:

The fees for the programme and whether they are inclusive or exclusive of VAT.
Any deposit required to secure a place.
Payment plans and instalment dates, making clear that instalments remain payable even if the client does not attend all sessions, unless they cancel under your terms.

You should also explain what happens if payments are late or fail, for example:

Suspending access to sessions and materials until payments are brought up to date.
Ending the client's place in the programme if payment is not made within a short grace period.

Cancellation, Refunds and Cooling-Off Rights

For consumer clients buying online or at a distance, you must deal properly with statutory cooling-off rights. Your terms should:

Explain that clients have a 14-day cooling-off period when buying online or by phone, unless an exception applies.
Ask clients to confirm if they want you to start providing services during the cooling-off period, and that they understand they will have to pay for services already provided if they then cancel.
Set out a fair sliding scale for cancellations before the programme starts, reflecting your likely losses at different notice periods.
Explain that once the programme has started, fees are generally non-refundable, but that you may allow deferrals, credits or partial refunds at your discretion in exceptional circumstances.

Framing your charges as a genuine pre-estimate of loss, and acting reasonably when applying them, helps you stay on the right side of consumer law and CMA guidance.

Confidentiality, Data Protection and Session Notes

Clients are sharing sensitive information with you. Your terms need to address:

Confidentiality of session content, with clear exceptions where you may have to disclose information by law or to protect someone from serious harm.
The limits of confidentiality in group settings – you can ask participants to keep things confidential, but you cannot guarantee others will do so.
Data-protection compliance, including a reference to your privacy notice and how long you keep session notes and records (typically six to seven years for legal, insurance and professional-practice purposes).

You should say that you store data securely, handle it in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and explain clients' rights to access, correct or delete their data where appropriate.

Intellectual Property in Your Materials

Most coaches now provide workbooks, videos, exercises and other materials. Your terms should make clear that:

You own the intellectual property in these materials.
Clients receive a personal, non-transferable licence to use them for their own development.
Clients must not copy, share, publish, sell, license or use your materials to provide similar services to others.

This protects your content and prevents clients from repackaging your frameworks as their own.

Limiting Your Liability

You cannot exclude liability for everything, but you can set reasonable limits. Your terms should:

Confirm that nothing in them limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
Exclude liability, as far as the law allows, for loss of income, profits, business, opportunities or any indirect or consequential loss.
Cap your total liability to the total fees paid or payable for the programme.

This aligns with common practice for professional services and keeps your risk proportionate to what you are being paid.

Bringing It All Together: Terms Plus Programme Outline

The easiest way to manage all of this is to use a two-part structure:

Coaching Terms of Business – the standard terms that apply to all clients and programmes.
Programme Outline – a short, specific document for each programme, setting out sessions, timing, access, fees and any payment plan.

Together, they form the contract once the client confirms in writing. That gives you a robust, repeatable framework for both online and in-person coaching.

Our Coaching Terms of Business template covers all of these points in plain English, specifically designed for UK wellness, life and personal coaches working with individual consumers.

Coaching Terms and Conditions Template UK: Essentials for Online and In-Person Programmes