CIPD - Absence measurement and management

HR practice

Revised July 2010

This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It covers:

why absence from work matters
measuring absence
what absence policies need to contain
managing short term absence and long term absence
the legal position
the CIPD viewpoint.

Why absence from work matters

Employee absence is a significant cost to businesses according to CIPD's research. Our annual employee absence survey has data on sickness absence costs, causes and the average number of working days lost. It also looks at trends and current practices in managing absence.

Go to our most recent absence survey

Effective absence management involves finding a balance between providing support to help employees with health problems stay in and return to work and taking consistent and firm action against employees who try to take advantage of organisations’ occupational sick pay schemes.

Types of absence

There are many reasons why people take time off work. These can be categorised as:

short-term sickness absence
long-term sickness absence
unauthorised absence or persistent lateness
other authorised absences, for example, annual leave; maternity, paternity, adoption, or parental leave; time off for public or trade union duties, or to care for dependents; compassionate leave; educational leave.

This factsheet focuses on sickness absence issues. For more information on authorised forms of absence see our factsheet on time off work.

Go to our factsheet on Working hours and time off work

The main causes of sickness absence for manual and non-manual employees have been identified as:

Manual	Non-Manual
Minor illness*	Minor illness*
Back pain	Stress
Musculoskeletal injuries	Musculoskeletal injuries
Home/family responsibilities	Back pain
Stress	Home/family responsibilities
Recurring medical conditions	Recurring medical conditions
Injuries/accidents not related to work	Other absences not related to ill-health

*Minor illness includes colds, flu, stomach upsets and headaches.

Measuring absence

A key element in managing absence effectively is accurate measurement and monitoring. Measures can be used as trigger points, indicating to an organisation when absence needs to be investigated. Monitoring absence allows the employer to identify trends and to explore underlying causes.

In the latest CIPD absence survey fewer than half of employers monitor the cost of absence, just under half of organisations have set a target for reducing absence and just over one third of organisations benchmark themselves against other employers.

CIPD members can use our online tool which covers whether employers have an absence problem, how to develop an absence strategy and how to deal with short-term and long term absence.

Go to our online tool

How to measure time lost

Different measures of absence focus on different aspects of measuring time lost:

‘Lost time’ rate

This measure expresses the percentage of total time available which has been lost due to absence, and can be calculated separately for different departments to identify areas of concern.

Total absence (hours or days) in the period x 100
Possible total (hours or days) in the period

Frequency rate

This measure shows the average number of absences per employee expressed as a percentage. It gives no indication of the length of each absence period or any indication of employees who take more than one spell of absence.

No of spells of absence in the period x 100
No of employees

By counting the number of employees who take at least one spell of absence in the period rather than the total number of spells of absence, this calculation gives an individual frequency rate.

Bradford Factor

By measuring the number of spells of absence the Bradford Factor identifies persistent short-term absence for individuals and is therefore a useful measure of the disruption caused by this type of absence. It is calculated using the formula:

S x S x D

where S = number of spells of absence in 52 weeks taken by an individual
and D = number of days of absence in 52 weeks taken by that individual.

For example:

10 one-day absences: 10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000
1 ten-day absence: 1 x 1 x 10 = 10

5 two-day absences: 5 x 5 x 10 = 250
2 five-day absences: 2 x 2 x 10 = 40

What absence policies need to contain

A clear policy should be in place that supports the organisation’s business objectives and culture and explains the rights and obligations of employees when absent due to sickness. Legislation requires employers to provide staff with information on any terms and conditions relating to incapacity for work due to sickness or injury, including any provision for sick pay.

The policy should:

provide details of contractual sick pay terms and its relationship with statutory sick pay
explain when and whom employees should notify if they are not able to attend work
include when (after how many days) employees need a self-certificate form
contain details of when they require a fit note from their doctor
explain that adjustments may be appropriate to assist the employee in returning to work as soon as is practicable
mention that the organisation reserves the right to require employees to attend an examination by a company doctor and (with the worker’s consent) to request a report from the employee’s doctor
include provisions for return-to-work interviews
give guidance on absence during major or adverse events (for example, snow, pandemics or popular sporting events such as the Olympic Games or World Cup).

Fit notes

In April 2010 ‘sick notes’ were replaced by ‘fit notes’. When completing a fit note a doctor has the choice between two options:

not fit for work
may be fit for work.

If the doctor selects ‘may be fit for work’, one of the following four options also has to be selected:

phased return to work
amended duties
altered hours
workplace adaptations.

The doctor then has the option to make any additional comments.

Employers should arrange to meet with an employee who is assessed as ‘may be fit for work’ to discuss appropriate ways to manage the return to work process.

Managing short-term absence

Absence interventions

Effective interventions in managing short-term absence include:

a proactive absence management policy
return-to-work interviews
disciplinary procedures for unacceptable absence levels
use of trigger mechanisms such as the Bradford Factor to review attendance
involving trained line managers in absence management
providing sickness absence information to line managers
restricting sick pay
involving occupational health professionals.

Return-to-work interviews can help identify short-term absence problems at an early stage. They also provide managers with an opportunity to start a dialogue with staff about underlying issues which might be causing the absence.

Ddisciplinary procedures for unacceptable absence may be used to make it clear to employees that unjustified absence will not be tolerated and that absence policies will be enforced.

Only a small number of organisations use attendance incentives or bonuses as a tool of absence management according to our latest absence survey.

The role of line managers

Line managers have an important role to play in the management of absence. Managers need good communications skills to encourage employees to discuss any problems they may have at an early stage so that employees can be given support or advice before matters escalate. However, our surveys show that only around half of organisations train their line managers in the skills needed to do this effectively.

Line managers need to be trained in:

the organisation’s absence policies and procedures
their role in the absence management programme
the way fit notes operate and how to act upon any advice given by the doctor
the legal and disciplinary aspects of absence including potential disability discrimination issues
maintaining absence record-keeping and understanding facts and figures on absence
the role of occupational health services and proactive measures to support staff health and wellbeing
the operation (where applicable) of trigger points
the development of return-to-work interview skills
the development of counselling skills.

Managing long-term absence

According to our surveys absence of eight days or more accounts for about one third of total absence and absence of four weeks or more accounts for around a fifth. Consequently organisations need to have a formal return to work strategy for those returning after prolonged absence. Awareness of potential disability discrimination claims is also crucial.

The role of the line manager is vital in managing long-term absence but other interventions are also important. These include:

occupational health involvement and proactive measures to support staff health and wellbeing
restricting sick pay
changes to work patterns or environment
return-to-work interviews
rehabilitation programmes.

There are four typical elements in the recovery and return-to-work process:

Keeping in contact with sick employees.
Planning and undertaking workplace controls or adjustments.
Using professional advice and treatment. For more information see our factsheet on occupational health.
- Go to our factsheet on Occupational health
Planning and co-ordinating a return-to-work plan.

The legal position

Used properly the Acas Code of Practice Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures together with the employer’s own procedures provide the main tools for addressing unacceptable absence – see our factsheet on discipline and grievances in the workplace for more information.

Go to our discipline and grievances at work factsheet

Disability discrimination

The management of employees who become disabled as a result of sickness may mean employers have to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ as dictated by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) before they can return to their job. Employers should be aware that conditions such as stress might be covered under the DDA and that our surveys show that stress-related absence continues to increase. The types of adjustments that employers might be required to consider include:

making physical adjustments to the workplace
allocating some of the disabled person’s duties to another person
transferring the disabled person to another vacant post with or without reasonable adjustments being made
altering the disabled person’s working hours through, for example, part-time working, job sharing or other flexible hours arrangements
providing special equipment to assist the disabled person to perform his or her tasks and giving training in the use of the equipment.

For more information on the definition of disability and how to address the issues see our factsheets on disability and stress in the workplace.

Other legislation affecting absence management

If an employer requests a medical report from a health professional, it is essential that the Access to Medical Records Act 1998 is adhered to.

Employers must be careful not to breach the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) when they collect, use and store information about their employees’ absence. Details of an employee’s health, either physical or mental, are categorised as ‘sensitive personal data’ under the DPA.

View our factsheet on data protection

CIPD members can find out more on the legal aspects from our FAQ on Absence management in the Employment Law at Work area of our website.

Go to our Absence management FAQ

CIPD viewpoint

Effective people management policies are needed to encourage employee motivation and commitment and to reduce absence. Employees need well-defined job roles, challenging but realistic targets, and support and training to help them achieve these targets. It is important that employers support employees with effective return-to-work programmes as part of their absence management strategy. It is also important that employers remember that most absence is genuine that and employees often need support in their recovery.

Our research reveals that some of the most successful tools in reducing employee absence are an early intervention by line managers and good communication. This effective communication can help to identify underlying causes of absence. A large part of managing absence is about ensuring that staff can raise issues that may be troubling them at an early stage so that they can be addressed before they escalate. Effective absence management is also about creating work environments where employees are less likely to wake up and think ‘I don’t feel like going in to work today’. A focus on employee well-being can also be an effective way to avoid absence problems developing.

Absence measurement and management