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Configure and view the Bradford Factor score

Updated

Available for the following EmploymentOS plans: Employment Lite, Employment Plus, Employment Unlimited
Available for the following HR Classic plans: Platinum
Available for the following user access levels: Admin

The Bradford Factor score is a feature for assessing the absenteeism of your employees.

Employers can now get a quick view of their employees' Bradford Factor score on the leave management panel for simple leave planning and to assess employees' attendance patterns and identify any potential issues or trends.

This article explains how to:

 

 

Set up the Bradford Factor on your account

Enable Bradford Factor score for your employees
  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. Click on the Settings option in the left-hand side menu. 
  3. Under the Payroll Settings subheading, click on Leave Settings.
  4. Click on the Advanced Settings tab.
    click on advanced leave settings tab
  5. Click on Bradford Factor toggle switch. Ensure that the toggle is switched to the right, which is the on position.
    screenshot of how to switch the bradford factor toggle on to enable this feature

Helpful Hint

Once enabled, the Bradford Factor score feature will calculate all leave taken with the word "sick" in the leave type name.

Enable Bradford Factor on other leave types
  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. Click on the Settings option in the left-hand side menu. 
  3. Under the Payroll Settings subheading, click on Leave Settings.
  4. Click on the Leave Category tab.
    click on leave category tab
  5. Click on the 3 dots on the leave type that you wish to edit.
    click on the 3 dots on the leave type you wish to edit
  6. Click on Edit.
    click on edit to edit the leave type
  7. Under Other Settings in the popup box, tick Include in Bradford Factor calculation.
    tick include in the bradford factor calculation
  8. Click on Save.
    tick include in the bradford factor calculation then click save

Important

This setting is intended for sickness-related absences and should not be used for leave categories such as annual leave or holidays.

View your employees' Bradford Factor score
  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. Click on Reports in the left-hand side menu.
  3. Click on the Time option.
  4. Click on Bradford Factor Report.
  5. Here you will see each employee's Bradford Factor score displayed in a table format showing:
    • Employee name
    • Manager (primary manager, or secondary if no primary assigned)
    • Total absence instances
    • Total days absent
    • Bradford Factor score
  6. To view a detailed breakdown of leave types and dates included in an employee's Bradford Factor calculation, click on the expandable icon next to their name. This will show:
    • Leave type and dates taken
    • Number of days for each absence period
    • Leave reason (if applicable)

Note

You can also access the Bradford Factor Report directly from Leave Management by clicking View Bradford Factor, which will open the report in a new tab under Reports Bradford Factor.

Filter Bradford Factor scores by specific criteria
  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. Click on Reports in the left-hand side menu.
  3. Click on the Time option.
  4. Click on Bradford Factor Report.
  5. Use the filter options at the top of the report to narrow down your results by:
    • Personnel - Select a specific employee by name
    • Manager - Filter by direct manager
    • Team - Filter by team/department
    • Cost Centre - Filter by cost centre
    • Date Range - By default set to rolling 12 months, but can be customised to view scores for specific time periods
  6. The Bradford Factor scores will update automatically based on your selected filters.
  7. You can also sort the results by clicking on column headers for:
    • Name (alphabetical order)
    • Total Absence Instances (numerical order)

Edit Bradford Factor settings

Include leave types in Bradford Factor calculation
  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. Click Settings in the left-hand side menu bar.
  3. Under Payroll Settings, click Leave Settings.
  4. Click the Leave Category tab.
  5. For the leave type you want to include in the Bradford Factor calculation, click the Actions dropdown button.
  6. Click Edit.
    screenshot of the leave settings page, highlighting the three dots and edit buttons for a leave type

  7. Tick the Include in Bradford Factor Calculation checkbox.

    Important

    You also have the choice to exclude specific leave reasons from the Bradford factor calculation if you have enabled leave reasons for your organisation.

  8. Click the Save button.
    screenshot of the edit leave popup, highlighting the checkbox for including it in the bradford factor calculation
Exclude leave reasons from Bradford Factor calculation

This setting can only be turned on for leave types that have both "Include in Bradford Factor Calculation" and "Leave Reasons Required" enabled.

  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. Click Settings in the left-hand side menu bar.
  3. Under Payroll Settings, click Leave Settings.
  4. Click the Leave Category tab.
  5. For the leave type where you want to exclude some leave reasons for, click the Actions dropdown button.
  6. Click Edit.
    screenshot of the leave settings page, highlighting the three dots and edit buttons for a leave type
  7. Tick the Exclude Specific Leave Reason checkbox.
  8. Choose the leave reasons you want to exclude from the Bradford factor calculation.
  9. Click the Save button.
    screenshot of the edit leave popup, highlighting the checkbox for leave reason exclusion and the save button

View the Bradford Factor report

View number of sick days and Bradford Factor score
  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. On the left-hand side menu, click on Reports.
  3. Click on the Time option.
  4. Click on the Bradford Factor Report.

  5. Here you can filter by:

    • Personnel
    • Manager
    • Date range
    • Team
    • Cost centre


    filter bradford factor report

Download the Bradford Factor report
  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. On the left-hand side menu, click on Reports.
  3. Click on the Time option.
  4. Click on the Bradford Factor Report.
  5. Apply any filters you want to include in your downloaded report (the CSV will only contain the filtered results).
  6. Click on the downward-facing arrow or Export button to download the report as a CSV file.
    download bradford factor report to CSV file
  7. The CSV file will contain the following columns:
    • Full Name
    • Manager
    • Team
    • Cost Centre
    • Total Absence Instances
    • Total Days Absent
    • Bradford Factor
    • Leave Details (showing leave types and date ranges in format: "Leave type (dd/mm/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy)")

Example

If you filter for a specific employee like "Kendra", the downloaded CSV will only show Kendra's Bradford Factor data and leave breakdown details.

Create a custom report with Bradford Factor fields

Build a custom fields report
  1. Log in to Employment Hero. 
  2. Click   Reports on the left-hand side main menu.
  3. On the Reports page, click the tab called Other Reports.
  4. Click Custom Report.
    screenshot of the other reports tab in the reports page, with a highlight on the custom report box
  5. Click Create New Report.
    screenshot of the custom reports page, with a highlight on the create new report button
  6. Under Let's start creating an awesome report... subheading, add the following details:
  7. Type your preferred report title in the Report name field.
  8. Type what this report will cover in the Description field.
  9. In Report group, select from the drop-down menu.
  10. Under Visibility, choose who can access this report:
    • 🔒 Private (Default) - Only you can view and access this report. Best for work-in-progress reports or personal data tracking.
    • 👥 Some - Share with specific administrators or selected admin groups for targeted collaboration.
    • 🌐 Public - Any administrator in your organisation can view and access this report. Use this for standard company-wide KPIs and general reporting.
  11. Click on Next. 
    Build your own part 1.jpg
  12. Select Create my own from the Report Type drop-down menu.

  13. Select from the following data points:

    • Absence occurrences
    • Total absence days.

    Any other data point is optional, but you must select the above to incorporate the Bradford Factor fields.

  14. Click on Next. 
    choose data points for your custom report page
  15. Under the subheading, Finally, what type of additional data visualisations would you like to include? choose between the following report presentation options:
    • Table
    • Column chart
    • Donut chart. 
      choose your data and report visualisation options
  16. Click on Create. 

Important

If your report contains fields with historical records, you may find it presents duplicate entries. To avoid this, tick the Exclude history checkbox (it is to the right of the Exclude terminated employees checkbox). The Exclude history checkbox will be greyed out unless your report has fields with historical records (i.e. 'Benefits', 'Employment History', and 'Pay Details').

Create automatic notifications based on Bradford Factor scores

Set up Bradford factor alert threshold

If you would like to be automatically notified when an employee's Bradford Factor score reaches a certain number indicating problematic absenteeism, you can configure an alert threshold in your account settings. This allows you to address absences before the need for disciplinary action.

  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. Click on Settings in the left-hand side menu.
  3. Locate the Bradford factor alert threshold setting.
  4. Enter the desired score threshold that will trigger a notification when exceeded.
  5. Click Save.

Once configured, the platform will notify admins when Bradford Factor scores reach this threshold. This will allow you to address absenteeism prior to it becoming a problem.

Which notifications does the admin receive?

By default, the platform can trigger notifications based on the following standard thresholds. You can adjust your specific alert threshold within the Settings menu to align with your company's policies.

Bradford Factor score Notification Primary recipient Secondary recipient
>100 but <200 Trigger verbal warning Direct manager Admin
>200 but <500 Trigger written warning Direct manager Admin
>500 Trigger dismissal Direct manager Admin

Further information

How is the Bradford Factor calculated?

The Bradford Formula is composed of two elements: the total number of absence instances or spells over a set period of time (S) and the total number of days the individual was absent during the given period (B).

  • S stands for spells, which are the number of occasions an employee was absent within a 52-week period
  • D is the total number of days of absence within that same period
  • B stands for the resulting Bradford Factor

The Bradford score is calculated with the formula:

S x S x D = B

 If an employee was absent for 10 days over the course of a 52-week period and all of these absence days occurred in one block. The Number of absent days in the last 12 months = 10 days and Total absences in last 12 months = 1. So the Bradford Factor would be (1 x 1) x 10 = 10

If an employee is absent twice in one year for five days at a time. The Number of absent days in the last 12 months = 10 days and Total absences in last 12 months = 2. So the Bradford Factor would be (2 × 2) x 10 = 40 If an employee is absent 10 times in 52 weeks for one day at a time, the Number of absent days in the last 12 months = 10 days and Total absences in the last 12 months = 10. So their Bradford Factor score is: (10 × 10) x 10 = 1,000

Can the Bradford Factor score calculate partial sick days?

Yes it can. If you want to adjust an employee's sick leave to include partial days taken, follow the below instructions.

  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. Click on Time in the left-hand side menu.
  3. Click on Leave Management.
  4. Click on the Leave Requests tab.
    alt
If I build a custom report with Bradford Factor data points, what is the data based on?
Reports automatically calculate scores based on the last 12 months of absence data by default, providing an immediate and meaningful absence snapshot.

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