Sickness Absence Management Policy

12. Short-term absence

1. 12.1.The Council manages short-term absence by following a trigger system which monitors absence levels and triggers formal action if patterns begin to emerge. The system follows the 'Bradford Factor' model and operates as follows: 
   1. a) A score is created by using the calculation O x O x D, where 'O' is the number of occurrences of absence in a rolling 12-month period and 'D' is the total number of days absent over that same period: see Appendix 1 for a full explanation.
   2. b) The action taken based on the score reached by applying the calculation will generally be as follows:

   3. Applying the Bradford score calculation

      Trigger / Bradford Score	Action	Possible formal outcomes (see below)	Responsible officer	Appeal Officer
      20-50	Informal Action	Trigger letter	Line Manager	N/A
      51 and above	Stage 1 meeting	First written warning - live for 12 months	Line Manager and HR Advisor	Senior Manager
      No improvement at stage 1	Stage 2 meeting	Final written warning - live for 12 months	Line Manager and HR Advisor	Senior Manager
      No improvement at stage 2	Stage 3 Hearing	Extension of final written warning, dismissal or redeployment	Head of Service and HR Advisor	Executive Leadership Team

   4. Where any formal outcome is issued this must be accompanied by an improvement plan including targets for attendance improvement and support and clear timescales.