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What Is a Good Bradford Factor Score?

Based on the default pattern below, a typical score is 45. Adjust the inputs for your exact figure.

3 spells
5 days

Bradford score

45

Low risk

Normal attendance variance — no action required.

050125400+

One more absence like this (1 spell, 2 days) would take the score to 112 — into the Notice tier.

How it's worked out

S² × D = 3² × 5 = 45

Audit note

Trigger points are employer POLICY, not law — set the Notice / Warning / Critical thresholds under Adjust assumptions to match your own absence policy (the 50 / 125 / 400 defaults are just common practice). Apply them with discretion: under the Equality Act 2010, disability- and pregnancy-related absence may need to be discounted and the thresholds adjusted before any formal action.

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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How this calculation works

Work out a Bradford Factor score from absence spells and days, see which trigger-point tier it falls into, and understand what UK employers can and can't do with the result.

Worked example

S² × D = 3² × 5 = 45

Frequently asked questions

What is a good Bradford Factor score?
Anything under about 50 is generally treated as normal attendance variance and needs no action. Because the score squares the number of separate absences, a low score usually means few, infrequent spells — a genuinely 'good' pattern. There is no legal number, though: your employer's policy sets the bands.
What is a bad or high Bradford Factor score?
Most policies treat 125+ as a warning tier that prompts a formal absence review and a Return-to-Work interview, and 400+ as critical, where Stage 2 or 3 formal action may follow. A high score is usually driven by many short, unplanned spells rather than one long absence.
What does a Bradford Factor of 200 mean?
A score of 200 sits in the warning band (125–399). It signals a moderately disruptive pattern of short-term absence — for example five separate absences totalling eight days (5² × 8 = 200) — and would typically trigger a Stage 1 review under most policies. Enter your own spells and days above to see where you land.
Are these score bands set by law?
No. The 50 / 125 / 400 trigger points are common policy defaults, not statute. Employers choose their own thresholds, and the Equality Act 2010 can require adjusting them for disability- or pregnancy-related absence.