UK absence score tool
Calculate absence scores in seconds, compare patterns, and understand what the number means before it becomes a management decision.
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Bradford Factor score
Early review range
This score is often used as a prompt for an informal review, depending on your organisation's policy.
The Bradford Factor gives more weight to repeated absence occasions than to one continuous absence. Two employees can have the same total days absent but very different scores if one absence pattern is more fragmented.
Guide
The Bradford Factor is an absence scoring method used by some employers to highlight frequent short-term absence. It does not measure how ill someone is. It measures the pattern of absence by giving extra weight to the number of separate absence occasions.
In practice, this means one continuous absence usually produces a much lower score than the same number of days split across several separate absences. HR teams often use the score as a trigger for a conversation, support review, or policy checkpoint.
The formula is S2 x D = B. S is the number of separate absence occasions, D is the total days absent, and B is the Bradford Factor score.
Many UK employers use score thresholds as review triggers. The exact trigger points should come from the employer's own policy and should be applied with care. Disability, pregnancy, long-term health, reasonable adjustments, and wider context may all matter.
Questions
A score of 100 is commonly used as an example trigger for a more formal review, but there is no universal rule. Your organisation's absence policy decides what happens next.
No. This page calculates in your browser and does not ask for names, identifiers, or employee records.
Yes. The days absent field accepts half days, so 2.5 days across 2 occasions would calculate as 2^2 x 2.5 = 10.
No. Scores are best treated as prompts for review, support, and consistent decision-making alongside policy and legal obligations.
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