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What should a caregiver call-off policy say?
A call-off policy you can copy, written for California home care agencies. About a page and a half. Fill in the blanks, then have an employment lawyer read it.
The short version
A caregiver call-off policy should say how to call off and to whom, how much notice you ask for, who finds cover, who tells the family, and what a no-call no-show is. In California it also has to respect paid sick leave: sudden illness needs notice only “as soon as practicable,” and protected sick days can't count against attendance.
The template below does all of that in about a page and a half. Copy it, fill in the blanks, and have an employment lawyer read your final version.
Download the template
Free to print, copy and change. No email needed.
- Caregiver call-off policy (PDF)
- Or copy the template below into your own document and fill in the blanks.
What's in it:
- How to call off
- Notice we ask for, by shift
- When you're sick: California paid sick leave
- Who covers the shift
- Who tells the family
- Shift swaps
- No-call no-show
- When a visit is cancelled on you
- Picking up extra shifts: fair rotation
- Rest after extra shifts
- Call-offs that aren't sick leave
- Signature
The template
Copy everything in this box. Blanks look like ____. Brackets are choices for you to make, then delete.
[Agency name] Caregiver Call-Off Policy
Effective date: ____ · Reviewed: ____
This policy explains how to tell us when you can't work a scheduled shift, what we do next, and how we keep extra shifts fair. Our clients count on a caregiver showing up. You count on us to treat you fairly when life gets in the way. This policy is how we do both.
1. How to call off
Call the scheduling line at ____ (phone call, not a text or a group chat). If no one answers, leave a voicemail with your name, the client, and the shift, then text ____ so we see it. A call-off isn't received until someone from the office confirms it back to you. If you don't hear back within 15 minutes, call again.
Don't call off by telling the client or the family. We'll tell them.
2. Notice we ask for, by shift
| Shift | Please call off by |
|---|---|
| Morning (starts ____) | ____ the night before |
| Afternoon / PM (starts ____) | ____ that day |
| Overnight (starts ____) | ____ that day |
| Live-in or 24-hour | ____ hours before start |
These are what we ask for so we have time to find cover. If you're sick and can't give this much notice, see section 3. You won't be disciplined for using protected sick leave because you couldn't call earlier.
3. When you're sick: California paid sick leave
- You earn paid sick leave under California law and [our accrual plan / our up-front grant of ____ hours]. You can use at least 40 hours or 5 days a year, as the law allows.
- You can use it when you're sick, for a medical appointment, for preventive care, or to care for a family member who is sick, and for the other reasons the law covers.
- If you know ahead of time (an appointment, a procedure), tell us as early as you reasonably can.
- If it's sudden, tell us as soon as you can. Use the scheduling line in section 1.
- We won't require a doctor's note for you to use paid sick leave.
- The smallest amount you can use at one time is ____ hours (no more than 2).
- Using paid sick leave you've earned and have available never counts as an attendance occurrence and won't be held against you.
- Sick pay is paid no later than the next regular payday.
4. Who covers the shift
The office finds cover, not you. You never have to find your own replacement to use sick leave. If you'd like to suggest someone who knows the client, you can, but you don't have to.
5. Who tells the family
The office tells the client and family that their caregiver has changed, who is coming, and when. If we can't find cover, the office calls the family to work out what happens next. Caregivers don't need to make this call.
6. Shift swaps
You may swap a shift with another caregiver only if the scheduler approves it first, in writing (a text from the office counts). The caregiver taking the shift has to be trained for that client. An unapproved swap counts as a missed shift for the caregiver who was scheduled.
7. No-call no-show
A no-call no-show is missing a scheduled shift without calling the scheduling line [before the shift starts / within ____ hours of the start]. If you were too sick or hurt to call, call as soon as you're able and we'll treat it under section 3.
A first no-call no-show leads to a meeting with ____. [A second within ____ months leads to a written warning. A third may end your employment.] We apply these steps the same way to everyone.
8. When a visit is cancelled on you
If you come in for a scheduled shift and get less than half of it because the family or the office cancelled, we pay reporting time pay under California's rules: half the scheduled shift, at least 2 hours and no more than 4, at your regular rate. We'll tell you about cancellations as early as we can so you don't make the trip.
9. Picking up extra shifts: fair rotation
When a shift opens up, the office asks in this order:
- Caregivers who already know the client
- Caregivers who've told us they want shifts at that time of day
- Caregivers who won't go into overtime by taking it
Within each group we go down a rotation list, so the same person isn't always asked first. Saying no to an open shift is never held against you. Tell the office if you want to be on, or off, the short-notice list.
10. Rest after extra shifts
If you pick up ____ or more extra shifts in a week, the scheduler will offer you a day off within the next ____ days, where the schedule allows. If you're too tired to work safely, tell us. That's a reason to change the schedule, not a mark against you.
11. Call-offs that aren't sick leave
If you call off for a reason that isn't protected leave, or you have no sick leave available, follow the same steps in sections 1 and 2. Repeated unprotected call-offs follow these steps: ____ [a conversation / a written note / a final warning]. We write each step down and apply it the same way to everyone.
This policy doesn't change any right you have under law. Where the law gives you more, the law wins.
12. Signature
I've read this policy and had the chance to ask questions.
Caregiver name: ____ Signature: ____ Date: ____
Office: ____ Signature: ____ Date: ____
What each section is for
How to call off: a phone call to one number
A text in a group chat can sit unread while the shift gets closer. A phone call to one scheduling line, confirmed back to the caregiver, means someone at the agency knows. The 15-minute “call again” line closes the gap where both sides think the other one has it.
Notice you ask for, by shift
Set the times around when your call-offs come in, not when you'd like them to. In the nursing facilities I worked in, the call-off came at 10pm or 2am for the morning shift, around noon for the PM shift, or 5pm for the graveyard shift. Your agency will have its own pattern. Look at your last few months and write the blanks to match.
Ask for notice. Don't punish someone using protected sick leave for missing it. California's paid sick leave law asks for “reasonable advance notification” when the need is foreseeable and notice “as soon as practicable” when it isn't (Labor Code 246(m)).
When the call-off is sick leave
This is the section most owners get wrong without meaning to. Under California's rules, as the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) explains them:
- Employers generally provide 5 days or 40 hours of paid sick leave a year.
- Sick leave covers the caregiver or a family member, for diagnosis, care, treatment or preventive care.
- You can't deny paid sick leave only because there's no doctor's note.
- If a caregiver has sick leave available and uses it for a covered reason, you can't give an attendance “occurrence” for it.
- You can set a minimum amount per use, up to two hours.
- Sick pay is due by the next regular payday.
The law also says an employer can't make a caregiver “search for or find a replacement worker” as a condition of using paid sick days (Labor Code 246.5(b)). That's why section 4 of the template puts finding cover on the office.
And it bars firing, threatening or retaliating against someone for using sick days they've earned, with a presumption of retaliation if you take adverse action within 30 days (Labor Code 246.5(c)). If a caregiver called off sick last week, wait and talk to your lawyer before any discipline for something else.
Who covers, and who tells the family
The office finds cover and the office tells the family. A caregiver texting the family “I can't make it” leaves them wondering if anyone is coming. For what to say on that call, the call script has the tone.
Shift swaps
Swaps help, but only if the person taking the shift is trained for that client and the schedule shows who's there. Scheduler approval in writing covers both.
No-call no-show
Define it in one sentence and write the steps down. The “too sick to call” line keeps a true emergency from being treated like a skipped shift.
When the family or the agency cancels
DIR's reporting time pay rule: if an employee reports for a scheduled shift and gets less than half of it, pay half the scheduled shift, at least 2 hours and no more than 4, at the regular rate. DIR lists three exceptions: threats to employees or property, a utility failure, and an Act of God or other cause outside the employer's control.
Whether a family cancelling at the door counts as a cause outside your control is a question for your lawyer. The safer default is to pay it. It also tells your caregivers that a wasted drive isn't on them.
Fair rotation and rest after extra shifts
These two aren't required by law. They're there because of what happens after the call-off. In the facilities I worked in, once the shift was covered, the rest of the week had to be rebalanced around whoever was now overworked and needed a day off. A rotation list keeps the same reliable person from being asked every time. A day back after extra shifts keeps the tired one from becoming the next call-off.
Repeated unprotected call-offs
Write the steps down and apply them the same way to everyone. Keep notes on unprotected call-offs separate from protected sick leave, so nothing protected ends up in a warning by accident.
How to roll it out without starting a fight
- Fill in the blanks and get a lawyer's read. Use your own call-off pattern for the notice times and your own sick leave plan for section 3.
- Read it with the team. A short meeting, or one-on-one for caregivers who can't make it. Go through sections 3, 4 and 9 out loud, since those are the ones that protect them.
- Sign it and keep a copy. One signed copy in each caregiver's file, one copy for them, and the current version where the scheduler can find it at 2am.
- Review it in 90 days. Look at what came in: when call-offs landed, how many were sick leave, who kept picking up. Change the blanks to match.
What a policy can't fix
A policy tells people how to call off. It doesn't find cover at 2am. For that part, and for the week after, read how to cover a caregiver call-off without wrecking the rest of the week.
Questions owners ask
Can I write up a caregiver for calling off sick in California?
Not for using paid sick leave they've earned and have available for a covered reason. DIR says that can't count as an attendance occurrence, and Labor Code 246.5 bars discharge, threats or retaliation for using it. If they had no sick leave left, or the reason isn't covered, your written steps can apply. Ask your lawyer first.
How much notice can I require for a call-off?
You can ask for notice and set times by shift. For sick leave, California asks for reasonable advance notice when the need is foreseeable, and notice as soon as practicable when it's sudden. Don't discipline someone using protected sick leave because the illness didn't give them time to call earlier.
Can I ask for a doctor's note?
DIR says you can't deny paid sick leave based only on a missing note from a health care provider. It also says asking for documentation may be reasonable in some situations, depending on the facts. The template says you won't require one to use sick leave, which is the simple, safe line.
What counts as a no-call no-show?
Whatever your policy says, written in one sentence. The template defines it as missing a scheduled shift without calling the scheduling line before it starts. It also says a caregiver too sick or hurt to call should call as soon as they can, and the absence is then handled as sick leave.
Do I have to pay a caregiver if the family cancels when they're already at the door?
Under DIR's reporting time pay rule, if they report for a scheduled shift and get less than half of it, they're owed half the shift, at least 2 hours and at most 4. Whether a family cancellation falls under an exception is a question for your lawyer. Paying it is the safer default.
Can I make a caregiver find their own replacement?
Not as a condition of using paid sick days. Labor Code 246.5(b) says an employer can't require the employee to search for or find a replacement worker. The office finds cover. They can suggest someone if they want to.
Should caregivers be allowed to swap shifts themselves?
Only with the scheduler's approval first, in writing. The person taking the shift has to be trained for that client, and the schedule has to show who's going. A text from the office approving it is enough.
Can call-offs be texted, or should they be a phone call?
A phone call to one scheduling line, with a text as backup if no one answers. Group chats get missed. Whatever you pick, the call-off counts once the office confirms it back, so nobody thinks someone else has it.
Is this template legal advice?
No. A nurse wrote it, using DIR's public pages and the Labor Code. Rules change and your agency's details matter. Have an employment lawyer read your final version before you hand it out.
Sources
Checked October 17, 2026.
- California Department of Industrial Relations, California Paid Sick Leave: Frequently Asked Questions.
- California Department of Industrial Relations, Reporting Time Pay FAQ.
- California Labor Code section 246 (paid sick days: amounts, notice, increments), read on a public mirror of the 2025 code. Official text: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
- California Labor Code section 246.5 (covered reasons, no replacement-worker requirement, no retaliation), read on a public mirror of the 2025 code. Official text: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
I'm a nurse, not a lawyer. Have an employment lawyer read your final policy.
If you want a second set of eyes on how your call-offs run, I'll walk through it with you.
Book a 15-minute workflow review
Or call (650) 613-5455.
Book a 15-minute workflow review at nextloopco.com/review, or call (650) 613-5455.