Bradford Factor calculator.

Work out a Bradford Factor score in seconds. Add each separate absence from the last 52 weeks, and see the score and how it's worked out.

Absences in the last 52 weeks

One row for each separate absence, with the number of working days it lasted.

Try an example:

Bradford Factor 0

S × S × D

Spells (S)
0
Days (D)
0

Add the working days for each absence to see the score.

How it's worked out.

The Bradford Factor is used across the UK to spot frequent short absences, which tend to disrupt more than one long one.

S×S×D

  • S is the number of separate absencesEach spell counts once, however long it lasted.
  • D is the total working days absentAdded up across every spell.
  • Over a rolling 52 weeksCount back a year from today, not from the start of the calendar or holiday year.
1,000Ten single days off
10 × 10 × 10
10One ten-day absence
1 × 1 × 10

Both are ten days off. Because the number of spells is squared, frequent short absences score far higher.

Getting the count right.

A score often leads to a conversation about someone's attendance, so it's worth counting carefully. These are the common mistakes.

  • Count only days they were due to workA weekend inside a week off sick doesn't add two days. Someone on four long shifts a week shouldn't be measured as if they worked five.
  • One illness across a weekend is one spellOff sick on Friday and the following Monday is a single absence if they weren't due in over the weekend. Counting it as two doubles the spells, and can quadruple the score.
  • Decide what's left outMany employers leave out absence related to pregnancy or a disability. It's worth taking advice on what your own absence policy should exclude.
  • A score starts a conversationThere's no legal standard for what a score means. Your absence policy sets any trigger points.

Questions.

What is the Bradford Factor?
A score used across the UK to spot frequent short absences, which tend to disrupt more than one long one. It's the number of spells of absence, squared, times the total days absent, over 52 weeks.
How do you calculate the Bradford Factor?
Count the separate spells of absence in the last 52 weeks (S) and the total working days absent (D), then work out S × S × D. Six spells totalling seven days scores 6 × 6 × 7 = 252.
Why do short, frequent absences score so high?
Because the number of spells is squared. Ten single days off score 10 × 10 × 10 = 1,000, while one ten-day absence scores 1 × 1 × 10 = 10, though both are ten days.
Should weekends count?
Count only days the person was due to work. A weekend inside a week off sick doesn't add two days, and someone on four long shifts a week shouldn't be measured as if they worked five.
Is an absence over a weekend one spell or two?
One. Off sick on Friday and the following Monday is a single spell if they weren't due in over the weekend. Counting it as two doubles the spells and can quadruple the score.
What score should trigger action?
There's no legal standard. Employers set their own trigger points in their absence policy, and a score is a prompt for a conversation, not a decision.

Or let TimeSpark work it out for everyone.

TimeSpark works out every employee's Bradford Factor from the sickness you already record. It counts only days people were due to work from their own working pattern, treats an illness across a weekend as one spell, and shows a 52-week chart beside each person so patterns stand out.

See how it worksBook a demo

See it working with your own rotas.

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  1. The morning check your managers see first
  2. A clocking at the terminal, appearing with its photo
  3. Opening the door from a phone
  4. A timesheet traced back to its clockings
  5. A correction, with the original left untouched
  6. Next week's rota, changed and published
  7. Holidays and rotas on the wallchart, and the phone app
  8. The help on any page, on a computer and a phone