Absenteeism Bradford factor

Employee absence creates direct payroll costs and operational disruption. The wider cost can be greater: critical roles may need temporary cover, replacements may earn overtime, staffing levels become harder to maintain, and medical, group-life and disability premiums may rise. Indirect costs are estimated to reach 200% or more of direct absence costs. As a broad industry-dependent estimate, absenteeism can consume between 5% and 9% of annual profit.

When to use it

• Answer the key performance question: “To what extent is unauthorised employee absenteeism a problem in our business?”
• Assess this KPI within the Employee perspective.
• Plan data collection, formula use, reporting frequency, and data-source requirements for this KPI.
• Compare results against the targets, benchmarks, examples, or trend guidance available for this KPI.

Origins

The Bradford Factor has circulated in UK human-resources practice since at least the 1980s and is commonly linked with the University of Bradford School of Management, although no definitive original publication or named inventor has been established. Its formula deliberately weights repeated short absences more heavily than one absence covering the same total number of days. That weighting is a management-policy choice, not a clinical judgement, so a score should initiate a fair review rather than trigger automatic punishment.

What it is

Perspective: Employee perspective.

Key performance question: To what extent is unauthorised employee absenteeism a problem in our business?

Absence is an employee's unavailability for work. Legal absence includes public holidays; authorized absence includes approved leave; unauthorized absence has not received the required approval. All three types need costing and management, but unplanned or unauthorized absence usually creates the greatest operational difficulty.

People miss work for many reasons, including illness, family responsibilities, stress and a belief that they are entitled to occasional time off. Frequent short and unplanned episodes tend to be especially disruptive because managers must repeatedly rearrange cover and work. The Bradford Factor combines frequency and duration to highlight attendance patterns that merit closer review.

The measure can reveal trends and establish trigger points. It does not explain the cause of absence or determine whether an employee has acted improperly.

How to use it

Measurement

Choose a consistent observation period and include only the absence categories covered by the organization's policy. Calculate the score for each employee, monitor changes and use thresholds to begin a documented conversation about context and support.

Formula