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Bradford factor calculator

Score how disruptive an absence pattern really is, because five separate days off hit a team harder than one five-day stretch.

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What is a good Bradford Factor score?

Lower is better, and most policies treat anything under 51 as no concern. The widely used trigger points are 51, 201 and 401, but you should set thresholds that match your own absence policy and the realities of your workforce.

How we calculated this

The Bradford Factor squares the number of separate absence spells in the last rolling 52 weeks and multiplies it by the total days absent: B = S² × D. Squaring the spells is the whole point. Five single days score 5 × 5 × 5 = 125; one five-day illness scores 1 × 1 × 5 = 5. The score is then placed against the trigger points most policies use (51, 201 and 401) so you can see which band the pattern would land in. It is a prompt to check in rather than a verdict. The formula, the conventions behind the bands and the sources are below.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of the Bradford factor in the HR Glossary.

Tracking a whole team? The Bradford Factor Tracker scores everyone in one grid, with a rolling 52-week window and CSV import.

Your working
Assumptions
  • Uses a rolling 52-week window, so older spells fall out as the window moves. A score built on calendar years or on someone's whole history will differ and is not the standard method.
  • Counts every spell of unplanned absence the same, whatever the reason. Absence connected to a disability, pregnancy, workplace injury or an approved carer's need should be handled outside the score, and in Australia dismissing someone for a temporary absence due to illness or injury is unlawful under the Fair Work Act.
  • The trigger points (51 informal review, 201 formal review, 401 escalation) are practitioner conventions from UK and ANZ HR practice, not a regulator's standard. Set your own thresholds in your absence policy and apply them the same way to everyone.
  • The formula weights frequency, so a low score can hide a long single illness that deserves support, and a high score can flag a parent with a sick child. Read the pattern, then the person.
Sources

What to do about it

A Bradford score is a smoke alarm. It goes off for burnt toast and for house fires, and it cannot tell you which. What you do in the hour after it sounds is the whole policy. These steps are for whoever sees the absence data first, usually a line manager or an HR adviser, whether or not they own the policy.

1

Check the reasons before you check the band

Pull the spells behind the score and read the recorded reason for each. Disability, pregnancy, injury and carer's leave come out before the score means anything, and the Fair Work Act protects temporary absence for illness or injury. If your records do not hold reasons, that is the first fix.

2

Have the conversation the score is asking for

Under 51, nothing. Above it, a private, supportive check-in: what is going on, is anything at work making it worse, what would help, what do you need from us. Write down what was said and agreed. Most patterns end here, because most people were waiting to be asked.

3

Set your own triggers, in the policy, in writing

51, 201 and 401 are conventions, not law. Decide what each band means in your organisation, who has the conversation, what support comes with it and how it is recorded, then apply it identically to everyone. A trigger applied to one person and not another is the version of this tool that ends up at the Fair Work Commission.

4
Where a tool helps

Look at the manager's whole team before you look at the person

If several people under one manager are scoring, the pattern is the team rather than the individuals. Frequent Monday absences across a team is a climate signal. Take that to whoever the manager reports to, with the scores, before anyone starts a formal process.

5

Trend the team scores each quarter and act on movement

Log the scores by team, re-run them every quarter, and watch the direction. A team drifting from 20 to 120 is worth more attention than an individual sitting at 210 who has been there for a year with a known reason.

The score is the flag.
Step 4 is the cause.

Compono Engage is an employee engagement platform that reads culture and climate alongside work personality, team by team, so a cluster of Bradford scores under one manager comes with a reason attached. Absence software counts the spells and fires the trigger, and it stops there. Engage reads the climate in the team the spells are coming from and how the people in it are wired to respond to it.

That is step 4 done with data instead of a hunch, and it usually explains why step 2's conversations keep landing on the same team. The score above tells you a pattern is disruptive. Engage tells you whether it is one person's life or one team's climate.

See how it works
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Common questions

Why does the formula square the number of absences?

Squaring S means frequency matters far more than total days. Ten one-day absences score 1,000, while one ten-day absence scores 10. The logic is that frequent unplanned absences are harder to plan around than a single known stretch.

Should I discipline someone over a high score?

A high score is a signal to start a supportive conversation, not an automatic disciplinary step. Genuine illness, caring responsibilities and disability-related absence all need care, and many fall outside what the score should drive. Use it to spot patterns worth understanding.

Does the Bradford Factor cover the rolling 52 weeks only?

Yes, the standard approach uses a rolling 52-week window so the score reflects recent behaviour rather than someone's entire history. Older absences drop out as the window moves forward.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the relevant authority in your country or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.

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