Do you know where your colleagues are?

open plan officeBrightHR summarises employee absence trends in 2017.

Whatever the size or nature of a business, managing employee sick days, lateness and holiday leave is something that all employers have to consider.

BrightHR has published its holiday and absence trends for 2017, based on customer data from their employee absence management system (56,000 customers).

The data creates an interesting snapshot of how many UK workers took time off in 2017:

  • Tuesday was the most popular day of the week to call in sick
  • October was the month with the highest sicknesses logged
  • Maxine and Alistair were the names least likely to take a sick day
  • December 2017 was the month in which the most holiday requests occurred
  • 25 August was the most popular date to book off
  • Edinburgh was the city with the highest staff lateness
  • Birmingham was the city with the lowest staff lateness

BrightHR chief technical officer, Alastair Brown, comments:

“The data has given us some really interesting insights into sick leave in the UK. One of the most surprising findings was that Tuesday, not Monday, was the most popular day to call in sick, with flu, food poisoning and migraines being the most common reasons for an employee taking sick leave.

"The month with the highest sicknesses logged was October, with the start of winter taking a toll on employees and flu viruses starting to spread around workplaces and schools.

“We don’t always think of lateness as absence, however it is. When managing staff absence it is important to keep records of employees being late, as frequent latenesses can add up and cost your business.

The data also showed shows that Edinburgh was the city with the most employee latenesses, with the main reasons given being bad weather disrupting travel and general traffic chaos. And unsurprisingly perhaps, the bus stop capital of Europe, Birmingham, was the city with the most punctual employees.

A good absence management is imperative for a business, as it can increase efficiency and reduce the impact of day-to-day staff absences.

About the author

BrightHR is a people management software company for small businesses.

See also

Personnel Today: Short-term sickness absence policy: a 15-step guide for HR