Staff absence disrupts a business, can create stress for those covering for absent colleagues, leads to drops in productivity and levels of service and ultimately absence costs a business money. Recent statistics released by the ONS show that the number of working age people inactive for health reasons, including being classed as absent from work due to sickness, was 2.8 million at the end of 2023. This is an increase of more than 200,000 on the previous year and a significant leap of 700,000 since before the Covid pandemic. With that in mind, it is critical for your business that you have an absence policy in place which sets out your approach to how absence will be managed so that it is consistent and equitable. Getting on top of absence takes time and effort though and businesses need to record, track and report on absence information to ensure that patterns can be identified, support can be offered when needed and issues can be nipped in the bud. A popular method used in monitoring and tackling absence is known as the Bradford Factor.
What is the Bradford Factor?
Given that our own Stuart Wright hails from Bradford it’s important to be clear that this isn’t just something that he made up, it is a well-recognised and long established human resource management tool. The Bradford Factor is a simple formula which is said to have been developed by staff at the Bradford University School of Management back in the 1980s and which ultimately gives employers a number, the factor, that represents the level of absence of a member of staff.
How does the Bradford Factor work?
By using the Bradford Factor formula you apply a relative weighting to employee sickness absences. The weighting measures the impact of an employee’s absence on the business, the greater the weighting score, the greater the impact.
The formula itself works as follows:
S² x D = B.
S is the total number of separate absences by an employee. You multiply this number by itself.
D is the total number of days of absence of that employee which is usually calculated over a rolling 52 week period.
B is the Bradford Factor score.
For example, Keith has one absence (S) totalling 12 days (D), what is his Bradford Factor score (B)?
S² = 1 x 1 = 1
S² x D = 1 x 12 = 12 (B)
So, Keith’s Bradford Factor score is 12 points.
Another example, Karen has four absences (S) totalling 12 days (D), what is her Bradford Factor score (B)?
S² = 4 x 4 = 16
S² x D = 16 x 12 = 192 (B)
So, Karen’s Bradford Factor score is 192 points.
As you can see, even though the two employees have had the same total days of absence there is a marked difference between the scores due to the number of instances of absence and the impact that repeated absence has on the business.
How can a business use the Bradford Factor score?
The most effective way to use the scoring system is to set trigger scores within your company’s absence policy that are then linked to different levels of warnings. Staff should understand how the calculations and triggers work so that they are applied fairly. There is no one size fits all approach here. Each business will set its own trigger scores to prompt meetings with employees which depending on the score could then lead to the full range of potential sanctions from informal warning up to dismissal if multiple warnings have already been accrued. Employers should be mindful that the score in itself is just a value and you should still hold return to work meetings to understand the reasons behind absences and individual circumstances so that you don’t act in a discriminatory or unfair way. The trigger scores are there as a guide, an element of judgement and human intervention is still necessary. If an employee has a disability and has absences related to that disability then you should not includes those absences in the Bradford Factor scoring. Likewise, if an employee is pregnant and has pregnancy related absence it would be unreasonable and unjust to count those absences towards their score. If you want to find out more about the Bradford Factor and access a free online calculator then you can do so here Bradford Factor Calculator | Online Bradford Factor Calculator.
Overall absence management
Whilst it’s a useful tool to have in your absence management armoury, using Bradford Factor scores shouldn’t be the only method you use to manage absence. Make sure that your workplace culture is supportive and encourages a positive work-life balance as that can help prevent absences in the first place. Ensure your return to work meetings are effective, that you have suitable interventions in place to help staff and when needed that you involve medical professionals.
Do you have any questions about todays blog, need help in becoming legally compliant with contracts/policies or can we support you in taking away any people pains to give you peace of mind?
If you answered yes to any of the above, just give us a call at CUBE HR on 01282 678321, or book in a FREE 30 Minute HR Health Check here FREE HR Health Check and we’ll happily give your business a full HR overview with our personal recommendations absolutely FREE!
Why not also check out our blog on a similar topic What Should Your Absence Policy Cover?
We also have a YouTube channel with loads of handy videos outlining various HR related scenarios.
