Dear Listers,
You may be interested in the history of the Bradford Score, here is the text
of my enquiries of IDS in June 1999 (after a "no knowledge" response from
University of Bradford Management Centre - the initiators):-

I have avoided advertising !
The Bradford Index appears not to be published, and to have no copyright.

Dear Dr Helliwell

As you are probably aware the Bradford factor is a method of analysing the
frequency of an employee's absence which weights short repetitive absences
to reflect their disruptive affect on production. The basic formula is: S x
S x D. Where S is the number of separate absences in the last 52 weeks and D
is the total numbers of days' absence in the last 52 weeks.

IDS first referred to the Bradford factor or formula in Study 365 published
in July 1986.  That publication included a reference to the use of
`Bradford' factor point scores by May & Baker (now Rhone Poulenc Rorer).
Contacts at the company say that this method of calculating absence rates
had been introduced as a result of managers attending a series of seminars
on production management arranged as a part of a Bradford University
management course in the mid-1980s.  Controlling absence was one of the
management areas that was covered.  However, as you discovered, if you
contact Bradford University's School of Management they know very little
about it and I have never come across any  published record of its academic
origins.

Published IDS references include:

IDS Study 365, 'Absence', July 1986, page 5
IDS Study 498, 'Controlling Absence', January 1992,
          pages 3/4  (successful use of the formula at Victoria Coach
Station)
IDS Study 556, 'Absence & Sick Pay Policies', June 1994, page 6

A description of the factor also appears in `Measuring and monitoring
absence from work' published by the Institute for Employment Studies in
1995, although its origins are not given.

I hope that this is useful.  Please get in touch if you have any further
questions.

Ed Brown
IDS Studies

IDS switchboard  0171 250 3434

Dr Geoff Helliwell
MB ChB CIH FFOM MIOSH
Accredited Specialist in Occupational Medicine
Northumberland, UK
www.wellwork.co.uk


> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask]
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Stewart Lloyd
> Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2000 13:17
> To: occenvmed; Al-Zaid B (Bader)KUW
> Subject: Re: Bradford Score!
>
>
> The Bradford Score is an index of absence for individuals in an
> organization, which gives more weight to the number of spells of absence
> within a given period than to their duration. The formula is:
>
>     Index(I) = S x S x H
>
> where S is the number of spells and H is the total hours absent. It can be
> used by organizations as a trigger point for action. It should be noted,
> however, that it should be used only as part of a comprehensive Attendance
> Management Policy and Procedures, and not in isolation. Also, the
> circumstances leading to a high score should be carefully
> examined prior to
> any action being taken. There are a number of other scoring systems but I
> think the Bradford Index is probably the best (and it has the advantage of
> extreme simplicity!).
>
> With regard to the effect of absenteeism on work, a financial measure (a
> simple one might be the costs of overtime to cover the absentee) would
> possibly be more effective in driving home to managers the consequences of
> badly managed attendance. ACAS publish a useful little booklet on Absence
> and Labour Turnover, which is good as a "primer" text on attendance
> management and (apologies for blowing our trumpet for a moment) Caritas
> Limited is running a course in Solihull this Thursday (24th Feb) on
> Attendance Management (ring 01652 654825 for details).
>
> Stewart Lloyd
> Independent Consultant
> Yorkshire & Lincolnshire
> www.caritas.co.uk
>
>