Bradford Factor Calculator

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All HR and operations managers, raise your hand if you feel overwhelmed by employee absences. 

As you try to manage emails, spreadsheets, and unexpected sick leaves, short and frequent absences can make it tough to keep everyone accountable. 

It’s hard to enforce your attendance policy fairly when all you have are scattered notes and a feeling that something’s not quite right. 

You need a clear and objective way to see the big picture. That’s where the Bradford Factor calculator comes in. 

This simple tool provides a data-driven score that shows patterns of disruptive, frequent absences. Instead of relying on messy manual tracking, you can use the Bradford Factor to identify and address issues before they impact your business.

Ready to see how it works? Let’s dive in.

What’s the Bradford Factor?

The Bradford Factor, also known as the Bradford Index or Bradford Score, is a simple formula used in Human Resources (HR) to measure the impact of employee absenteeism. 

It’s not about the total number of days an employee is absent — it’s designed to flag frequent, short-term absences. 

Essentially, the factor considers it more disruptive to have 1 employee take 5 separate sick days over a few months than to have 1 employee take 5 consecutive days of leave only once. 

Frequent instances of short-notice sick leave can halt projects and increase workload on other team members. The Bradford Index shows an objective score to help you identify and address this pattern of employee behavior. It typically resets once a year.

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How to calculate the Bradford Score

The formula for calculating the Bradford Factor is simple — you just need 2 numbers:

  • S — the total number of separate occasions of absence (every time an employee is off work, no matter how long, counts as 1 occasion) and
  • D — the total number of days of absence within a specific period (usually 52 weeks). 

The formula is: S² x D = Bradford Score

Let’s see how this works.

For example, consider 2 employees, A and B, who have both taken 5 days off this year.

Employee A took one single period of sick leave that lasted 5 days:

S = 1 (one occasion of calling in sick)

D = 5 (total days of absence)

Score = 1² x 5 = 5

Employee B also had 5 days of absence in total, but they took 5 separate periods of sick leave, each lasting 1 day:

S = 5 (five occasions of unplanned absences)

D = 5 (total days of absence)

Score = 5² x 5 = 125

Even though both employees have been absent for 5 days, employee B has a higher Bradford Score compared to employee A due to the number of times they requested time off. 

Now, you don’t have to manually calculate this for 20, 50, or 100+ employees working at your company. Instead, you can use our free Bradford Factor calculator above and save time for more meaningful, productive tasks.

All you need to do is:

  1. Enter the number of times an employee asked for time off within a set period (typically 52 weeks) in the first row,
  2. Put in their total number of days off work during that time in the second row, and
  3. Get the automatic score in the last row.
Manage employee time off

Interpreting the Bradford Factor score

You have the number, but what does it mean? The Bradford Index isn’t a pass-or-fail test — it’s an early warning system. It helps you identify which employees’ absence patterns are concerning and require a closer look. 

The scores can be interpreted as levels, where each level suggests a different course of action. This is an example of how some companies might categorize the scores:

  • 0-50 — a low range that’s considered healthy for most businesses and not too disruptive.
  • 51-200 — depending on which end of the range the score falls, there could be some potential reason for concern, especially if this pattern of absences is unusual for the employee.
  • 201-500 — a higher range that might warrant further HR review and support.
  • 500+ — a very high range that could hurt work, potentially triggering a more formal conversation with the employee, or a review under your company’s attendance policy.

The interpretation of scores and levels varies from business to business and highly depends on their absence management practices. 

Also, keep in mind that the Bradford Score is a tool for initiating conversations — not a reason for immediate disciplinary action. 

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Practical applications in HR and absence management

The Bradford Factor can help you implement a fairer and more consistent approach to managing employee absenteeism. Instead of relying on guesswork, you can use this data to guide your HR strategy in the following ways.

#1: Manage difficult conversations

Conversations about attendance are never easy. The Bradford Factor gives you the objective data to move the discussion from a subjective feeling to a measurable fact.

Subjective: It seems like you’ve been off a lot.

↓

Data-driven: Your Bradford Score has reached X, and our policy states this is a trigger for review.

This approach makes the conversation less personal and more focused on the facts, which can lead to a more constructive outcome.

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#2: Promote fairness and consistency

Manually tracking absences can lead to inconsistent application of your attendance policy.

By using the Bradford Factor calculator across your organization, you ensure that every employee is measured by the same criteria.

This demonstrates that the policy is applied consistently to everyone, which reduces the risk of legal challenges and improves employee trust.

#3: Set clear policy practices

A high Bradford Score can be a pre-defined trigger for specific actions within your attendance policy. For instance, your policy might state that a score of 150-200 requires an informal chat, while a score over 300 needs a formal review meeting.

This provides transparency for both managers and employees, so everyone knows what to expect. 

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Common questions and criticisms

The Bradford Factor is a useful tool, but it has its flaws. As an HR professional, it’s essential to understand common concerns so that you can address them effectively and ensure the system is used fairly.

Is Bradford Factor harsh on employees?

This is the most common issue with the Bradford Score. Its focus on absence frequency can feel too strict for an employee who has several legitimate, short-term illnesses, such as migraines or minor colds.

To counter this, the Bradford Index should be used as a prompt for supportive conversation — not as a punishment. The score can work well together with a clear company policy that considers individual circumstances.

Does it account for long-term illnesses?

The Bradford Factor calculator isn’t meant for long-term absences. It specifically addresses frequent, short-term sick leaves. The formula focuses on the number of occasions of unplanned absences (S), so just one occasion of a long-term absence would still result in a low Bradford Score.

For instance, an employee who has asked for a 20-day leave only once would have a Bradford Score of 20, which is still lower than an employee who has asked for 1-day leaves thrice (Bradford Score = 27).

Occasions #: 1

Time off: 20 days

Bradford Score: 1 x 1 x 20 = 20

Occasions #: 3

Time off: 3 days

Bradford Score: 3 x 3 x 3 = 27

Your attendance policy should also include a separate provision for addressing long-term health issues.

What about disability and legal compliance?

When using the Bradford Factor, you must be mindful of legal obligations related to disability and other medical-related situations. In general, absences related to disability or a long-term medical condition should be handled separately.

Always consult legal counsel and your company’s specific policies to ensure full compliance. After all, the Bradford Score may help with management, but it can never replace a good HR practice.

As attorney Lisa A. Cummings, Esq. explains, the Bradford Factor can’t be used on its own, as there are variables that need to be considered regarding the employee’s absence:

“While I’ve supported companies that contemplated adopting the Bradford tool, we ultimately decided against it. It was too rigid and often penalized legitimate medical or family-related absences, creating legal risks and lowering morale.”

🎓 More resources on different types of leaves:

Clockify: The all-in-one solution for smarter HR management

The Bradford Factor calculator is a great start, but you can easily have a system that does all the work for you. Clockify replaces tedious spreadsheets and manual processes with a simple yet powerful, automated solution. 

Here’s how Clockify helps HR and operations managers such as yourself:

  • Time and attendance tracking — employees can track time using a simple timer, a digital timesheet, or a shared kiosk. This provides you with accurate, real-time data on their attendance, breaks, and overtime, all without manual data entry.
Keep track of employees' work time, breaks, time off, overtime, and more in Clockify
Keep track of employees’ work time, breaks, time off, overtime, and more
  • Time off management — Clockify lets you set up custom time off policies (vacation, sick leave, PTO, etc.). Employees can submit requests directly through the platform, and you can approve or reject them with a single click, with all balances updated automatically.
Track employees’ time off and manage policies
Track employees’ time off and manage policies
  • Attendance reports — you can run instant reports on daily attendance, total working hours, time off taken, and more. This gives you clear data for payroll processing, performance reviews, and those important conversations about attendance.

The software also features an available add-on that allows you to import public holidays from Google Calendar for a specific year and country, further enhancing your time off management. 

Discover how Clockify can transform your HR processes with our affordable pricing plans. 

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