The Revolving Door of Sick Leave: A Root-Cause Solution for Your Most Complex Cases
As a Business owner, HR or Occupational Health leader, you know the cycle all too well. An employee is struggling, perhaps with persistent stress, burnout, or a chronic illness. They’ve may have completed the sessions available via a Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), or their Occupational Health has assessed their fitness for work. And yet, they remain stuck.
The absences continue, productivity suffers, and manager time is drained trying to navigate a situation with no clear path forward. This is where conventional support systems reach their limit.
What if there was a way to go deeper? A way to provide a structured, compassionate, and highly personalised path for these employees, not just to return to work, but to rebuild their capacity and stay well for the long term?
That’s where The Barefoot Roadmap comes in. Think of it not as another app, but as a dedicated human guide for your most complex cases.
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More than ever, your employees are navigating a complex landscape of chronic health issues. The numbers are stark: over half of the UK workforce is managing at least one chronic condition, from autoimmune diseases and gut-based issues to debilitating burnout [1].
These are not just minor ailments. These are long-term struggles that lead to a staggering loss of productivity and a high rate of absenteeism. In 2024 alone, an estimated 149 million working days were lost to sickness in the UK, with stress, depression, and anxiety being a primary driver [2].
For the employee, the journey is often one of frustration and despair. They are caught in a diagnostic confusion waiting an average of 7 to 10 years for a diagnosis for conditions like endometriosis or autoimmune disease [3]. They feel unseen by a system that is brilliant in a crisis but ill-equipped to handle the nuances of chronic illness. They are left feeling debilitated, hopeless, and disconnected from their own bodies.
This is where conventional support systems, like EAP and OH, often reach their limit. So, what comes next?
Beyond First Aid: What is a Holistic Health Approach?
A holistic health approach recognises that an employee is not just their diagnosis. We are complex beings, and our physical health is deeply interwoven with our mental, emotional, and even spiritual wellbeing. This isnot just a philosophy, it is a practical, evidence-based framework for creating lasting change.
Rather than just managing symptoms, we focus on identifying the root cause of an issue by exploring the entire ecosystem of an employee's life including, their nutrition, stress load, sleep quality, and environment. By addressing these foundational pillars, we do not just help them feel better for a week, we build their resilience.
We give them the tools to regulate their nervous system, the knowledge to nourish their body, and the support to reclaim their vitality. This is mind, body, and soul work translated into a practical, sustainable plan that gets people back to work, and more importantly, back to themselves.
What The Barefoot Roadmap Is (And Isn't)
The Barefoot Roadmap is a six-month, whole-person health and resilience programme. We blend evidence-informed integrative health, herbal and lifestyle medicine, and practical nervous system regulation to get to the root of an employee's health challenges.
This isn’t a replacement for your existing support; it’s the vital missing piece that sits neatly beside them:
EAP provides excellent short-term counselling and immediate support.
Occupational Health ensures compliance and makes critical fitness-for-work decisions.
The Barefoot Roadmap builds the proactive capacity and personal momentum that makes those adjustments stick, leading to faster, more stable returns.
To Read More About The Barefoot Healers
Who Is This For?
This programme is specifically designed for:
Employees with repeat absences driven by stress, sleep issues, chronic pain, digestive problems, or post-viral fatigue.
High-performing team members on the brink of burnout who need a structured, preventative plan.
Valued employees returning from maternity leave, injury, or major life events who need support in rebuilding their rhythm and resilience.
Individuals with vague, difficult-to-diagnose issues that fall through the cracks of conventional care.
How It Works: Our Step-by-Step Process
We provide a clear, structured journey that removes the burden from your managers and empowers the employee. This can all be done virtually, with an online platform dedicated for your employee on Practice Better (HIPAA and GDPR compliant).
1. Rapid Triage & Onboarding (Within 5 Working Days)
We begin immediately with a nurse/integrative health practitioner-led intake to map symptoms, energy, sleep, stress load, and daily constraints. We align with any existing EAP or OH recommendations to ensure a seamless, non-duplicative experience.
2. Root-Cause Analysis & The Personalised Plan (Month 1)
We connect the dots across body systems using our BAREFOOT pillars—a framework that explores everything from Body Consciousness and Rest to Food as Medicine and Toxin Reduction. The result is a practical plan covering nutrition, sleep, nervous system tools, and workload hygiene. We create meal planning and recipes and analyse the need for further conventional testing (ie. blood tests) or functional medicine testing that can help investigate the root cause.
3. Care Navigation & Advocacy (Months 1-3)
We help adjust protocols and plan of action and support your employees throughout their journey. We help the employee navigate the healthcare system, coordinating with their GP, specialists, and EAP to ensure the right things happen in the right order. We also liaise with OH and line managers to support a graded return and implement reasonable adjustments.
4. Adherence Coaching & Energetic Support (Months 1-6)
A plan only works if it’s followed. We provide consistent coaching to build confidence and self-leadership. Where appropriate, we include gentle, trauma-sensitive energy practices like breathwork and grounding to support the nervous system.
5. Review, Iterate & Stabilise (Months 3-6)
We monitor progress using leading indicators like sleep quality, pain scores, and energy levels. We amplify what’s working, adjust what isn’t, and co-create a sustainable maintenance plan that the employee can own long after our work is done.
There is also an an option to add on a 3 months Coaching Certification for your employee to become a health coach, to help others in your organisation. This is a deeply guided journey to put into practice what they have learnt on their path, into practice. The best healers are those that have been through the fire themselves.
Rapid Triage & Onboarding
We begin straight away with a nurse‑led intake to map symptoms, energy, sleep and stress. No waiting around – you employee is supported from the start.
Root‑Cause Analysis & Plan
Using our BAREFOOT pillars, we connect the dots across body systems and craft a practical plan covering nutrition, sleep, nervous‑system tools and workload hygiene.
Care Navigation & Advocacy
We guide your employee through the healthcare maze – (with consent) liaising with GP's, specialists and Occupational Health to support a graded return to work. They never alone. We will be their health care advocate.
Adherence Coaching & Energetics
A Plan only works if it’s followed. We coach consistently to build confidence and self‑leadership, blending gentle, trauma‑sensitive practices to calm the nervous system.
Review, Iterate & Stabilise
We monitor sleep quality, energy and other leading indicators, co‑creating a sustainable maintenance plan for the long term.
Measurable Outcomes You Can Actually Track
We believe in delivering tangible results for both the employee and the business.
Reduction in symptom burden across sleep, stress, and pain.
Faster and more stable Return-to-Work rates for targeted cohorts.
Increased manager confidence in health-related conversations.
Improved employee agency and self-reported energy scores.
We report monthly at an anonymised cohort level to demonstrate progress while preserving individual confidentiality with the highest standards of data privacy.
Roadmap Formats for Your Workplace
We offer several formats to fit your specific needs and budget:
The Barefoot Roadmap (6 Months): Our signature offering for complex or recurrent cases, or for senior leaders you need to keep healthy, creative, and resilient.
Roadmap Bespoke: Focused, intensive support for single-issue cases like stress-sleep loops or gut-related flare-ups.
Digital + Touchpoints: A self-paced digital pathway combined with monthly group coaching calls, ideal for lower-risk cohorts.
Find out more: download our pdf
Ready to Solve Your Most Complex Cases?
Imagine reducing repeat absences, shortening recovery times, and giving your managers a clear, effective resource to rely on. That's the impact of adding a root-cause, human-led approach to your wellness strategy.
Let's find 30 minutes for a discovery call. We’ll map your current OH and EAP provision and show you exactly how The Barefoot Roadmap can slot in to reduce sickness and build true resilience, without drowning your people in another platform.
Learn more about our unique Roadmap
This approach has been successful for hundreds of people worldwide.
What exactly is the Barefoot Roadmap?
It’s a six‑month, whole‑person resilience programme built around five phases: rapid triage within 48 hours, root‑cause analysis and a bespoke plan in month 1, care navigation and advocacy during months 1‑3, adherence coaching and energetic support through months 1‑6, and a review & stabilisation phase to create a sustainable maintenance plan. Think of it as a human‑centred map that guides your employee from “stuck” to steady ground.
How much does it cost per person?
Pricing starts from £3,000 per person for the full six‑month journey. This includes all the consultations, coaching, and coordination needed to get your people back to work sooner. For larger cohorts, we’re happy to discuss volume pricing – because looking after your team shouldn’t break the bank.We can also create bespoke packages or different time frames dependent on need
Can my employee become an accredited health coach through this?
Yes! Part of the magic of our Roadmap is that it’s a pathway to a recognised health‑coach accreditation. If an employee leans into the learning and completes the optional certification modules, they can qualify as an accredited holistic health coach – ready to support colleagues and become a wellbeing champion in your organisation.
Will my employee’s information stay confidential?
Absolutely. All sessions and personal health data remain strictly confidential. With your employee’s consent, we’ll share periodic summary updates on progress to help you plan workloads and return‑to‑work arrangements. We never disclose private details without explicit permission – trust and respect are at the heart of our practice.
