Notifying, reporting and recording absences from work

Absence management stands little chance of being effective if employees’ attendance records are inaccurate; this IRS report draws on information from almost 200 employers to investigate why record-keeping is so difficult; what is being done to improve it; and the elements of an efficient procedure.

On this page:
Problems and solutions
      Problems experienced by employers with their practices
      Solutions to these problems: policies and managers’ input
      Solutions to these problems: notifications and outsourcing
      Solutions to these problems: record-keeping
Effective practice
Current practice
      Timescales for employees to report their absences
      How employees keep in touch beyond day one
      Employers prefer absent employees to phone in sick
      Employers want employees to report absences to line managers
      What happens when employees cannot notify their usual contact?
      External providers: what’s on offer
      External providers: current usage by employers
      Employers expect employees to give detailed information
      How employers categorise reasons for absence
      Few employers use external systems to code reasons for absence
      Closure: how employers know when employees return to work
      Absence record systems used by employers
Our research
Table 1: Absence notification methods
Table 2: Absence notification contacts
Table 3: Information employers expect employees to provide about their absences
Additional resources.