HOW TO HIRE · HEALTH & WELLBEING

How to hire an executive coach in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Nothing in UK law puts executive coaches on a register. Here are the checks, the questions for the chemistry meeting and what the quote should show.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an executive coach in five steps

  1. Hold a chemistry meetingFit matters more than credentials.
  2. Ask about accreditationAnd check it with the body.
  3. Agree confidentialityWhat, if anything, goes back to your employer.
  4. Get the programme in writingSessions, length, total, VAT.
  5. Agree how success is measuredGoals set at the start.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or statutory register applies to executive coaches in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and the title is not protected — anyone may use it. Accreditation by a coaching body is voluntary.

Ask the executive coach which training and accreditation they hold and check it with the body that awarded it.

Protected psychologist titles

An executive coach is not a therapist in law, and the practitioner psychologist titles — clinical, counselling, health, occupational, sport and exercise psychologist among them — are protected: only someone on the HCPC Register may use them, under the Health Professions Order 2001.

If the executive coach uses one of those titles, search them on the HCPC Register; if they are struggling to explain the difference, that tells you something. hcpc-uk.org →

Insurance

No register sets an insurance rule for an executive coach; professional indemnity insurance is the cover that pays if their advice causes you a loss.

Ask the executive coach whether they carry professional indemnity insurance and with whom.

Trader status and the 14-day cancellation right

An executive coach in business is a trader under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A coaching programme agreed online or by phone can be cancelled within 14 days under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013; if you asked for sessions to start in that time, you pay for what you had.

Get the executive coach's programme, total price and cancellation terms in writing before paying.

VAT

Executive coaching is standard-rated: a VAT-registered coach adds 20%, as coaching falls outside the private-tuition exemption. A coach or coaching firm over £90,000 must register and show VAT as its own line; one under it charges none.

Ask for the VAT number, and check the VAT is shown as its own line on the invoice. gov.uk →

“What is your executive coaching accreditation, and from which body?”

A good answer: A named body you can check.

“What is your leadership background?”

A good answer: Relevant senior experience, or a clear explanation of why the executive coach's approach works without it.

“What does an executive coach report back to my employer?”

A good answer: A three-way agreement; content stays confidential.

“How will we measure progress in executive coaching, as coach and client?”

A good answer: Goals agreed at the start and reviewed mid-way.

“Are 360 feedback or psychometrics included?”

A good answer: Priced separately if not.

“Who supervises your work as a coach?”

A good answer: A named supervisor.

“What happens if the fit is wrong?”

A good answer: An exit clause.

Getting the quote right

  • Who actually attends — the executive coach you chose at the chemistry meeting, or an associate, employed or subcontracted
  • Programme length, number of sessions and total
  • The VAT number, and VAT at 20% on its own line of the invoice
  • 360 feedback and psychometrics priced
  • Confidentiality terms with your employer
  • Cancellation and rescheduling
  • Travel for in-person sessions

Walk away if

  • No chemistry meeting offered
  • Reports session content to your employer without agreement
  • Uses a psychologist title without HCPC registration
  • No written contract
  • Guarantees promotion or results
  • Cannot say who supervises them
LOW
£150
TYPICAL
£300
HIGH
£500

What an executive coach costs: £150–£500 per session

Executive coaches price per session or for a fixed programme over months, usually with VAT at 20%. Executive Coach price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Executive coaches near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Chemistry meetingFit and goals.
  2. Three-way contractingGoals agreed with you and your sponsor.
  3. Coaching sessionsLeadership, performance, decisions.
  4. Mid-point reviewProgress against goals.
  5. Final reviewOutcomes and next steps.

Chemistry meeting
A first meeting to check fit.
Three-way contract
Goals agreed between you, the coach and your employer.
360 feedback
Views from colleagues around you.
Sponsor
The person at your employer who commissions the coaching.
Supervision
A coach's own review.
Practitioner psychologist
HCPC-protected titles, including occupational psychologist.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the goals and notesFor your own development plan.
Do the end reviewWith your sponsor if agreed.
Agree what happens nextA pause, or a follow-up.
Review the bookingTell the next family or client how the executive coach did. Something to fix first? The make-it-right step gives them the chance before your review goes live.

STEP 1Raise it with the executive coach, in writingName the problem and the fix you expect. When the coaching from an executive coach in business falls below reasonable care and skill — the standard section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets — section 54 gives you the right to repeat performance or a price reduction.
STEP 2Try the make-it-right stepUnder four stars for a booked executive coach, Locufy asks whether to pass it to them first; we follow it through before the review goes up.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplineNo regulator oversees an executive coach, so an executive coach who will not engage can be referred to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales (0808 223 1144 in Welsh), Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims as the last stepWhere the executive coach still refuses, the small claims routes run to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland under simple procedure and £5,000 in Northern Ireland, with no solicitor needed.

Hiring an executive coach: questions people ask

No. No licence or register applies in any UK nation; accreditation is voluntary.

No. 'Occupational psychologist' is protected and needs HCPC registration; 'executive coach' is not.

Usually, at 20%, as most executive coaches are VAT-registered; coaching is outside the private-tuition exemption.

£150 to £500 a session, typically around £300. Seniority, track record and add-on assessments push the fee up. Our executive coach price guide explains the range; searching your town above shows executive coaches who cover it.

Only what the three-way contract says — agree it in writing.

Raise it in writing; a coach in business owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in health & wellbeing

How to hire: Career CoachHow to hire: Life CoachHow to hire: Mindfulness CoachHow to hire: Wellness CoachHow to hire: CounsellorHow to hire: CBT TherapistHow to hire: PsychotherapistHow to hire: Personal TrainerAll 701 hiring guides →

Executive coaches near you

Executive coaches in LondonExecutive coaches in ManchesterExecutive coaches in BirminghamExecutive coaches in GlasgowExecutive coaches in BelfastAll executive coaches on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. HCPC — understanding the regulation of psychologists
  2. HCPC — professions and protected titles
  3. gov.uk — Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
  4. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  5. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started in the cancellation period
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — consumer's rights for services
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  8. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  9. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register