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Cost of Employee Absence Calculator

Based on the default pattern below, a typical cost is £2,500. Adjust the inputs for your exact figure.

10 days
100 £/day

Estimated annual cost

£2,500

How it's worked out

Direct £1,000 + indirect £1,500 (1.5× cover & lost productivity) = £2,500

Audit note

The 1.5× indirect multiplier is an estimate, not an official figure — adjust it to your own cover, overtime and lost-productivity costs. CIPD survey averages have been around £568/employee (private) and £835 (public).

Stop tracking this by hand

A Bradford score is only as accurate as the absence dates behind it. Tempry logs every request against an immutable ledger, so you're always calculating from an accurate record — not a spreadsheet you have to keep updating by hand.

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Different scenario? Try the full Bradford Factor calculator

How this calculation works

Put a number on absence: estimate the direct wage cost plus indirect cover and lost-productivity cost, and measure your absence rate as a percentage of available working time.

Worked example

Direct £1,000 + indirect £1,500 (1.5× cover & lost productivity) = £2,500

Frequently asked questions

How much does employee absence cost UK employers?
The CIPD's health and wellbeing survey has put the average cost of absence at roughly £568 per employee per year in the private sector and £835 in the public sector. Your own figure depends on wages, cover costs and how you value lost productivity.
What is the difference between direct and indirect absence cost?
Direct cost is the wage paid for the time not worked. Indirect cost is everything else absence drags in — overtime and agency cover, management time, delays and lost output. This calculator applies an adjustable multiplier to the direct cost to estimate the indirect part.
Why is the indirect multiplier set to 1.5 by default?
1.5× is a common working estimate — it assumes indirect costs add about half as much again on top of wages. It is only an estimate, not an official figure, so adjust the multiplier to match your own cover and productivity costs.

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