Updated for 2026/27
Bradford Factor Calculator
The Bradford Factor is a score some employers use to measure sickness absence. It deliberately weights frequent short absences far more heavily than one long one, so four separate days off can score sixteen times more than four consecutive days.
Use the calculator to work out a score, see what each band usually triggers, and read what your employer can and cannot do with it. Free, and no signup.
Worried about your score?
What the number can and cannot do.
It is not law
A score alone cannot justify a warning or dismissal. A fair process still applies.
A score alone cannot justify a warning or dismissal. A fair process still applies.
Disability and pregnancy
Absence related to either should be discounted or the triggers adjusted.
Absence related to either should be discounted or the triggers adjusted.
Documentation helps
A recorded absence with medical evidence is far easier to defend than one without.
A recorded absence with medical evidence is far easier to defend than one without.
Fit notes issued by GMC-registered doctors at The Blackheath Clinic, registered with the Care Quality Commission.
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