# Bradford Factor

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Industrial & Organisational : Introduction : Personnel : Organizational psychology : Occupations: Work environment: Index : Outline

The Bradford Factor or Bradford Formula is used in human resource management as a means of measuring [[employee absenteeism. The theory is that short, frequent, and unplanned absences are more disruptive than longer absences. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development the term was first coined due to its supposed connection with research undertaken by the Bradford University School of Management in the 1980s. It was developed as a way of highlighting the disproportionate level of disruption on an organisation's performance that can be caused by short-term absence compared to single incidences of prolonged absence. It was originally designed for use as part of the overall investigation and management of absenteeism. In contrast, if used as part of a very limited approach to address absence or by setting unrealistically low trigger scores it was considered short-sighted, unlikely to be successful and could lead to staff disaffection and grievances.

The Bradford Factor is calculated as follows:

$B = S^2 \times D$

where:

• B is the Bradford Factor score
• S is the total number of spells (instances) of absence of an individual over a set period
• D is the total number of days of absence of that individual over the same set period[1]

The 'set period' is typically set as a rolling 52 week period.

For example:

• Template:01 instance of absence with a duration of ten days (1 x 1 x 10) = 10 points
• Template:03 instances of absence; one of one, one of three and one of six days (3 x 3 x 10) = 90 points
• Template:05 instances of absence; each of two days (5 x 5 x 10) = 250 points
• 10 instances of absence; each of one day (10 x 10 x 10) = 1000 points

In May 2001, the UK Prison Service began using the Bradford Formula to identify staff with high absenteeism due to illness.[2] The Bradford Formula is used to calculate an "attendance score".[3]

## Bradford Factor and Disability Rights LegislationEdit

Beyond problems with short-sighted general application of the Bradford Factor, the UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005 (DDA), creates a duty on employers to tailor their actions to the individual circumstances of disabled employees. As certain disabilities may lead to a greater likelihood of short-duration absences or to a higher total of days of absence, a strong probability exists that disabled employees will be disproportionately disadvantaged by any non-individually tailored application of the Bradford Factor. The DDA allows disabled employees to request 'reasonable adjustments' in situations where they are disadvantaged by generic processes, failure to provide these reasonable adjustments, or to adequately justify why they cannot be provided, may leave the employer open to civil action for breach of the DDA in an Employment Tribunal. Reasonable adjustments in the case of the Bradford Factor might include recording Disability-Related Absence separately from Sickness Absence, or individually tailoring targets. Reasonable adjustments may also be requested by disabled employees for relief from any negative consequences of application of the Bradford Factor, such as disciplinary action or reduced salary awards.

## Notes and referencesEdit

1. includeonly>Duffy, Jonathan. "Ill Wind Blowing for the Sickie", BBC News, 2001-05-02. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
2. Cabinet Office (2004). "Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector". UK government. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.

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