It’s with this in mind that some bright spark created the Bradford Formula – a simple equation to measure employee’s sick leave and help you keep a firm absence policy. The equation is:

(S x S) x D = B

In the equation S refers to the number of absent spells, and D equals the total days absent over a year. B refers to the Bradford Formula score – the higher the score, the more disruptive the employee’s sickness. This means that an employee who has taken seven days off consecutively [(7x7)x1=49] is less disruptive than an employee who takes five one-off days out [(5x5)x5=125]. Using this you can compile a table of sickness to expose the employees who have regular short absences, and you can take appropriate disciplinary action if they cannot provide suitable explanation for abusing your absence policy. If you do go down this route though, you must be consistent in punishment, or you are likely to leave yourself wide open for legal action to be taken against you and your sickness policy!

It might be that you just live in a culture of sickness, rather than a sick-note culture, however and there are steps that businesses of all shapes and sizes can take to improve the wellbeing of staff. Of course, not every office can afford to employ full time counsellors and physios, but small businesses can offer extra time for employees to take lunch if they visit a local gym, or can provide free fruit to boost workers’ immune systems.

It’s important not to become overzealous in your sickness absence management. Not only are sick people usually considerably less productive than those who are allowed time to recuperate effectively, but bringing in those with flu, respiratory and stomach viruses when they would usually take a sick day can cause your whole office to come down with the illness. In these instances, its best to thank an employee for coming in, but to instruct them to head home for some rest - sometimes an office sick day really is just what the doctor ordered to guarantee a performance boost on return to work.

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