Some Thoughts On Dealing With Absenteeism Effectively

As the biggest investment a business is likely to makeemployees think twice before taking an occasional day
is staff, any time lost to sickness can be costly. Thisoff.
cost must be measured not only in terms of lostThe Bradford Factor:
production and sick pay, but also in terms of employeeLong-term sickness can be planned around and dealt
morale. Whenever an employee is off sick, there is awith. The worst type of sickness, as far as a business
knock-on effect on those colleagues who have tois concerned, is the regular but sporadic day off.
cover.In order to be able to deal with this, an objective
Recent reports have highlighted that sickness ismonitoring system will be required. It might be worth
costing British businesses up to £1.75 billion aconsidering the Bradford Factor, which is not a hugely
year, or roughly £500 per employee. Althoughcomplicated scientific idea, but a simple means to
the problem is far worse in the public sector, thehighlight those who regularly take a single day off.
private sector is still averaging 6.5 days of sicknessThe Bradford Factor measures both the number of
absence a year per employee. Improved managementsick days and the number of absences. The formula is:
of a company's sickness absence could mean seriousS x S x D = 'Bradford Factor'
savings.(S is the number of spells of absence in the last 52
Sickness reporting:weeks and D is the number of days' absence in the
The first area to consider is the reporting of sickness.last 52 weeks).
Before anything can be done to reduce absenceFor example, an employee who takes 10 individual sick
levels it helps to know what they are. Everyone needsdays in a year will have a Bradford Factor of (10 x 10
to know precisely what they are required to do if theyx 10) 1000. Whereas an employee who has a total of
are too ill to come in to work. Make sure employees10 days sick on one occasion in a year because of a
are aware that they should phone, not leave avirus or bad bout of flu will only have a Bradford
message, and speak to their manager or an equallyFactor of 10. As it concentrates on instances more
senior person if they are not available.than actual day's absence, the Bradford Factor allows
Tell employees they must phone in as early asa business to have a table of sickness. Those without
possible to advise why they are unable to make it tosatisfactory explanations for their regular short-term
work and when they expect to return. It is notabsences can then be dealt with formally through
unreasonable to ask these questions and it may meandisciplinary procedures. As ever, it is essential that
they are less likely to take that occasional dayconsistency is applied when dealing with sickness
off.Unless their contracts of employment stateabsence. It is worth remembering that genuine
otherwise, employees are only required to provide asickness should be dealt with in a sympathetic and
doctors certificate for periods of absence exceedingunderstanding way, with particular attention paid to the
seven days. But employees can be asked toDisability and Discrimination Act and its requirements.
complete an absence statement, which details whenIn summary:o Ensure that sickness absence is
they were off and why. This can then be signed offmonitored.o Make sure everyone is aware of sickness
and put on their employment file.reporting procedures.o Carry out a return to work
The return to work interview:interview.o Introduce an objective measuring system.o
When an employee's returns from sickness, ensureFor persistent offenders, use disciplinary procedures.o
that they have a 'return to work' interview. This shouldDeal with all sickness in a sympathetic manner.o Be
be done even if they have only had one day off sick.consistent.
This is a simple but effective tool and will makeCopyright © 2006 Jonathan Farrington.