Free white paper | Technology use and the Bradford Factor

The Bradford Factor or Bradford Formula is used in HR management as a means of measuring employee absenteeism. It is a simple formula that calculates a score for each employee by applying a relative weighting to his or her unplanned leave.

Generally speaking the higher the Bradford Factor score the worse an individual’s absences from work appear to the HR department. There are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ Bradford Factor scores, each workplace will set their own thresholds and individual allowances for absentees which means that the score threshold is entirely dependent on the company an employee works for.

Bradford Factor scores are a way of identifying employees with serious absence patterns worthy of further investigation. Some companies have a threshold as low as 100 and others much higher. Ideally, HR will define a suitable Bradford Factor level to trigger a first formal review of an employee’s absence record.


To find out more about how to leverage technology and the Bradford Factor to manage absenteeism, download our free guide.