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Ellie Green

How to manage staff absence

Explore the latest advice on staff absence management and uncover strategies that can help you reduce absenteeism in the workplace. Everyone needs to take time off from work every so often, but when absence becomes excessive, its impact can be wide-reaching. Chronic absence can affect productivity, morale and finances, so it is important to manage it effectively. From holiday entitlement to unauthorised absence, there is a lot to consider when managing employee attendance. This guide looks at the causes and types of absence alongside staff absence management for employers.

Types of absence

From illness to parental leave, there are various reasons an employee will need to take time off work. Let’s take a look at some of the most common.

Sick leave

If a member of staff is ill, they are entitled to take time off work, with recent research showing that UK workers take 7.8 days of sickness absence each year on average. When an employee is away from work for longer than 7 days, they will need to provide proof of sickness with a note from their GP. In the UK as of 2024, employers must pay statutory sick pay (SSP) of £116.75 per week, for up to 28 weeks to qualified employees. To qualify for statutory sick pay, workers must:

Be classed as an employee with an employment contract
Have done some work since starting their contract
Have been sick for more than three days in a row
Earn at least £123 a week
Provide proof of their sickness when asked

Extended sick leave

When an employee has been off due to a sickness absence for longer than 4 weeks, this is classed as long-term sick leave. SSP covers up to 28 weeks of absence, after which employees can apply for employment and support allowance (ESA). If your organisation has a sick pay scheme, you can extend the period of SSP. This is usually done by paying an employee’s full salary for a fixed period followed by the 28 weeks of SSP. Employees must keep their employer informed of their absence when on long-term sick leave and provide the required letters from their GP to cover the period of absence. There is no official law regarding contacting employees on sick leave, however, employers should give staff the time to rest and recover. If an employee is off work due to work-related stress or another mental health issue, contact from their employer could aggravate their condition.

For more information on implementing a sick leave policy, see the government guide to statutory sick pay for employers.

Parental leave

There are various types of parental leave employees may be entitled to, such as:

Maternity Leave: Expectant mothers are entitled to statutory maternity leave including statutory maternity pay for up to 39 weeks. This must cover 90% of their average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks of leave. After this, employers must pay £184.03 or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the remaining 33 weeks.
Paternity Leave: New fathers can take 1 or 2 weeks of paternity leave and are entitled to paternity pay if they earn at least £120 per week (before tax) and have been employed for a minimum of 26 weeks. To receive paternity pay, the employee must provide an SC3 form (or similar) at least 15 weeks before the baby is due. Paternity pay is whichever is lower out of £184.03 a week, or 90% of their average weekly earnings.
Shared Parental Leave: Couples expecting or adopting a child can share up to 50 weeks of parental leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them. This leave needs to be taken within the first year after the child is born or adopted.

Read more about Maternity and Paternity Leave in our dedicated guides:

Dependents leave

Employees are legally allowed to take time off work for emergencies involving dependents, for example a child’s sickness. The government defines dependents as a:

Spouse
Partner
Child
Grandchild
Parent
Someone dependent on the employee for care

There is no limit to how much time an employee can take off for dependents, but they should keep you informed of the situation and the period of time they are likely to be off. Employers are not obliged to pay dependent leave, but you can if you choose.

Sabbaticals and career breaks

A sabbatical is a period of leave (paid or unpaid) from work, usually to study or travel. Employees in the UK do not have the statutory right to sabbatical leave and employers do not have to offer career breaks. If you do choose to offer a career break policy, this should be outlined in your company handbook, including:

Eligibility criteria
Notice periods
How to apply
Length of time allowed

Some employers will allow sabbaticals after a certain number of years of continuous service and for fixed periods. For example, Deloitte offers two programmes: a 4-week unpaid sabbatical and a 3–6-month sabbatical at 40% of base salary.

Holiday and annual leave

Most employees who work a 5-day week are entitled to a minimum of 28 days paid holiday a year — this is statutory leave entitlement or annual leave. Annual holiday entitlement for part-time workers should be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

For help calculating annual leave, you can use the governments holiday entitlement calculator.

Unauthorised absence

When an employee does not show up for work and fails to inform their employer, or does not provide a reason, this is considered an unauthorised absence. In these circumstances, you should try to contact the employee — including via their emergency contact — as soon as possible. If a valid reason for no contact cannot be provided, you may wish to conduct further investigations and disciplinary action.

More advice on managing unauthorised absence can be found on the Acas website.

Absenteeism

Absenteeism is where an employee is away from work on a regular basis. While time off for sick days or annual leave is part and parcel of a worker’s attendance, absenteeism goes further than this, with the employee taking an unacceptable amount of time off. This will likely start to affect their team’s productivity and capacity to move projects forward, as well as potentially impacting their employer’s ability to meet their strategic goals. There are several reasons why employers may start to see an increase in absenteeism across their workforce, including:

Stress: Heavy workloads and long hours can lead to burnout for workers.
Health problems: An underlying or chronic health condition could affect an employee’s ability to work.
Childcare: This is a common cause of absenteeism, particularly for single parents with limited childcare options or who struggle to afford the cost.
Depression and anxiety: This is one of the leading causes of absenteeism. For advice on supporting employees with a mental health issue, see our guide to championing mental health at work.
Job dissatisfaction: When employees no longer feel challenged by their work or feel undervalued, they can lack the morale and motivation to turn up.
Bullying and harassment: Poor working relationships with colleagues and bosses can cause employees to call in sick as a means of avoidance.

How to calculate absenteeism

When it comes to measuring absenteeism, there is a simple formula employers can utilise:

Take the number of absences in a set period. Divide the number of absences by the total period then divide the result by 100. This will give you the percentage of absenteeism.

The average absence rate in the UK is below 2%. So, if an employee’s absence is significantly higher, it may be cause for concern.

How to reduce absenteeism

To overcome and successfully reduce absenteeism within the workforce there are several key stages employers can implement:

Understand the underlying cause: Take note of the reason for your employee’s absence each time and observe their behaviour when they are at work. Do they seem unhappy and unmotivated? Do they have any conflict with a member of the team, or do they seem isolated?
Have a confidential chat: If you’re concerned about an employee’s rate of absence, start by having a confidential chat with them. It’s important not to interrogate or intimidate them – tell them you are concerned and want to support them.
Share relevant resources or support networks: What company perks or benefits are available that could help your employee’s situation? Flexible working arrangements, additional training, counselling arranged through the company, childcare vouchers or travel allowances may be helpful.

Top tips for staff absence management

Staff absences are inevitable within any industry. However, there are various different ways you can look to effectively these absences workplace. Depending on the type of absence, some of the tips below will be more or less relevant.

Plan ahead

Have a holiday calendar for the team and encourage employees to book time off as far in advance as possible. For example, your holiday policy may state that holidays of a week or more require a month’s notice.

Handovers

For employees going away on holiday, taking a sabbatical, or other planned long-term absence, it is important that a full handover of instructions is given to the team member(s) picking up the work. Consider asking junior staff to fill in for more senior members of the team as a great way to upskill them. Be sure to discuss the opportunity with junior staff before seeking to hire someone external on a fixed-term contract.

Show empathy

Refrain from contacting staff who are on leave unless absolutely necessary. Don’t place pressure on employees on sick leave to return to work before they are ready (especially if they are off with work-related stress) as it may lead to bigger problems further down the line.

Be supportive

Let your team members know that you are there to support them if they are having difficulties. Whether it is a problem with a colleague or difficulty arranging childcare, they are more likely to come to you earlier to discuss issues if they feel you are open and willing to help them.

Return to work interviews

For staff who have been on an extended absence due to mental or physical health conditions or a change in circumstance (like becoming a parent), have a return to work interview with them when they are ready to come back to discuss any arrangements or extra support they may need.

For more guidance on creating and implementing an absence policy, see Acas advice on managing absence from work.

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