Wellness Coaching Contract Template UK

If you work as a life coach, wellbeing coach, health coach or personal-development coach in the UK, you need a written contract. Not because the law says coaching must be regulated – it doesn't – but because a contract is the single most effective way to protect your income, set boundaries and show clients you take your practice seriously.

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

Why a Wellness Coaching Contract Is Different

Wellness coaching sits in a unique space. You're not providing therapy, medical advice or regulated financial guidance – but your work often touches on mental health, physical wellbeing, nutrition, mindset and lifestyle. Clients may be vulnerable. Sessions can be deeply personal. And the line between "coaching" and "therapy" is not always obvious to the person sitting across from you.

That means your contract needs to do more than just confirm fees and session times. It needs to draw clear boundaries around what you do (and don't do), manage expectations about outcomes, and build in safety mechanisms that protect both you and your clients.

The Legal Basics Your Contract Should Cover

What Coaching Is – and What It Is Not

This is the foundation of everything else. Your contract should explain that coaching is a thought-provoking, creative process that supports personal development, wellbeing, mindset and self-awareness. It should then make equally clear that coaching is not:

Medical, psychological, psychiatric or therapeutic advice.
A substitute for counselling, psychotherapy, physiotherapy, nutrition/dietetic advice or any other regulated service.
Crisis support – and that clients should contact emergency services, their GP or helplines (such as Samaritans, CALM or MIND) rather than relying on you in an emergency.

You should also state that you do not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or condition, and that you do not make clinical recommendations or tell clients to start, stop or change medication.

No Guaranteed Outcomes

Wellness clients often come to you hoping for a specific change – weight loss, better sleep, reduced anxiety, improved confidence. Your contract must be honest: you cannot and do not guarantee any of those outcomes. Results depend on the client's own choices, commitment, actions and circumstances, most of which are outside your control.

Any testimonials or case studies you share should be described as illustrative only, not a promise of similar results.

Client Suitability and Disclosure

Your contract should ask clients to:

Confirm they are over 18 and joining voluntarily.
Take responsibility for deciding whether coaching is suitable for them, taking into account their health and circumstances.
Consult their doctor or another appropriate professional before starting if they have concerns about their physical or mental health.
Tell you – before the programme starts and as it continues – about any medical or mental-health conditions, medication or other factors that might affect their ability to participate safely.

This is not about turning you into a diagnostician. It's about giving you the information you need to coach safely and to know when to refer on.

Your Right to Pause or Stop

You should reserve the right to pause or end the programme if you reasonably believe coaching is not appropriate, safe or effective for a particular client. In that situation, you may signpost them to other sources of support (medical, therapeutic, specialist), but you are not responsible for arranging or providing those services.

Sessions, Scheduling and No-Shows

Your contract should set out how sessions work in practice:

Session details (number, length, frequency, start date, any bonuses or extras) go in a separate Programme Outline.
Clients must give a minimum amount of notice to reschedule – 48 hours is standard.
Late cancellations or no-shows may be treated as taken, with no refund or replacement session.
For group programmes, missing a live call does not entitle the client to a 1:1 replacement. If replays are included, access is time-limited.

Fees, Deposits and What Happens If They Don't Pay

Set out clearly:

Total programme fees and whether they include VAT.
Any deposit required.
Payment-plan dates, with a clear statement that instalments remain due even if the client doesn't attend all sessions.
What happens on late or failed payment: suspension of access, and termination of their place if payment isn't remedied within a short grace period.

Cancellation and Cooling-Off Rights

If your clients are consumers buying online or at a distance, you must comply with the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. That means:

Giving them a 14-day cooling-off period (unless an exception applies).
Asking them to confirm if they want you to start during the cooling-off period, and explaining they'll have to pay for services already provided if they then cancel.

Beyond the cooling-off period, set out a fair sliding scale for pre-start cancellations, and explain that once the programme has started, fees are generally non-refundable (with discretion to offer deferrals or credits in exceptional circumstances).

Confidentiality and Safeguarding

Promise to keep session content confidential, but be transparent about the exceptions:

Where the client consents to sharing (for example, as a testimonial).
Where you're required to share by law, a court or a regulator.
Where you reasonably believe there is a risk of serious harm to the client or someone else – in which case you may need to contact appropriate services.

You may also consult a clinical supervisor or professional advisor in confidence, without identifying the client by name unless legally required.

Data Protection

Explain that you handle personal data in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and point clients to your privacy notice. Cover how long you keep session notes and records, how they're stored securely, and the client's rights (access, correction, deletion, objection).

Intellectual Property

If you provide workbooks, exercises, videos, frameworks or other materials, confirm that you own the intellectual property and that clients receive a personal, non-transferable licence to use them for their own development only. They must not copy, share, sell or use your materials to provide similar services.

Liability Caps

Set sensible limits:

Don't exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
Exclude indirect and consequential losses as far as the law allows.
Cap total liability to the total programme fees paid or payable.

The Two-Document Structure

The cleanest approach is:

Coaching Terms of Business – your standard terms covering all the legal basics above.
Programme Outline – a short document for each client or programme, setting out session details, access, fees and payment plan.

Send both together. The client confirms in writing (email, e-signature or signed copy). At that point you have a clear, enforceable contract – and both of you know exactly where you stand.

Our Coaching Terms of Business template covers all these legal basics in plain English, specifically designed for UK wellness, life and personal coaches.

Wellness Coaching Contract Template UK: Legal Basics for Life and Wellbeing Coaches