Absence management software for UK HR teams
Appsentia takes the leave records you already have, as a CSV or Excel export from any HR or payroll system, and shows each employee's Bradford Factor against your trigger points, an attendance risk score and what sickness absence costs. It does not replace your HR system or payroll.
Free for 30 days, up to 10 employees, no card details.
What it does
Appsentia reads your leave records and gives you:
- The Bradford Factor for each employee over the last 52 weeks, against the trigger points you set for your company, with an alert when an employee reaches one.
- An attendance risk score from 0 to 100, from absence frequency, the share of absences on Mondays and Fridays, the recent trend and a comparison with the employee's department.
- The cost of sickness absence: sick days multiplied by the average daily salary you enter for your company.
- A comparison with the UK rate: the ONS figure for 2025 was 2.0% of working hours lost to sickness or injury (ONS, Sickness absence in the UK labour market: 2025).
Appsentia shows when and how often people are absent. It does not say why. A score or a trigger point is a reason to talk to the employee, not evidence on its own.
Who it is for
- HR managers and HR business partners who need to see which employees have reached a trigger point and want the same record for everyone going into a review meeting.
- Payroll and HR administrators who already hold the leave data and are asked for absence figures.
- Operations managers who want absence broken down by department.
- Finance teams who want a figure for what sickness absence costs.
- HR consultants who run absence work for several client companies through a partner account.
How it works
1. Upload your leave records
Export leave records from your HR or payroll system as a CSV or Excel file and upload it. Appsentia suggests a mapping from your column names, and you check it on each upload. The upload and data mapping guide covers the details. Appsentia does not connect directly to UK HR or payroll systems.
2. Set up your company
Choose the nation whose bank holidays apply: England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Appsentia uses the dates GOV.UK publishes for each (GOV.UK, UK bank holidays). A department whose staff work in another nation can use that nation instead. Then enter your Bradford Factor trigger points, the average daily salary for the cost figures and, if you give it, the number of company sick pay days per rolling 12 months.
3. Mark excluded absence
Mark a leave type or a single absence as excluded, for example because it is related to a disability or a pregnancy. Appsentia keeps it out of the Bradford Factor, the risk score and alerts. It still counts in the cost of absence. Our guide to the Bradford Factor in the UK explains why this matters.
4. Review and act
Look at who has reached a trigger point, open an employee's report before a meeting and follow your absence policy. Our guide to absence policy and trigger points covers review stages.
Problems it solves
"Who has reached a trigger point?"
Appsentia scores every employee against your company's trigger points and alerts you when one is reached, so the same rule applies to everyone. To score one employee by hand, use our free Bradford Factor calculator.
"Is absence getting worse, and where?"
The risk score includes the recent trend and a comparison with the employee's department, so rising absence and departments with more absence than others show up.
"What is absence costing us?"
Appsentia multiplies sick days by the average daily salary you enter. It leaves out cover, overtime and lost output, so treat the figure as the lowest likely cost.
"How much company sick pay has this employee had?"
Set the number of company sick pay days per rolling 12 months and each employee's report shows the days used and remaining. Appsentia does not calculate Statutory Sick Pay. Check SSP in your payroll.
How it differs from HR system leave modules
| System | What it does | Where Appsentia fits |
|---|---|---|
| HR system or payroll leave module | Records leave requests, approves them, keeps balances and pays sick pay. | Appsentia reads the leave records these systems export and scores them across the workforce. It does not approve leave or change balances. |
| Time and attendance | Records clock-in and clock-out times and hours worked. | Appsentia does not read clocking data. A missed shift reaches Appsentia only if it is recorded as leave. |
| Spreadsheets | Flexible, but Bradford scores, trigger points and department views have to be built and kept up by hand. | Appsentia works these out from each upload. |
How much it costs
You pay a monthly platform fee plus a rate for each active employee. The rate depends on how many active employees you have. Annual billing is 20% less. Prices are final. No VAT is added.
| Active employees | Professional, per employee | Enterprise, per employee |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 20 | £2.00 a month | £2.70 a month |
| 21 to 50 | £1.50 a month | £2.00 a month |
| 51 to 100 | £1.20 a month | £1.70 a month |
| 101 to 200 | £1.00 a month | £1.35 a month |
| 201 to 500 | £0.80 a month | £1.05 a month |
| 501 to 1,000 | £0.65 a month | £0.85 a month |
| Over 1,000 | Quote | Quote |
Professional has a £25 platform fee and a minimum of £49 a month. Enterprise has a £35 platform fee and a minimum of £69 a month. The bracket rate applies to every active employee. For example, 40 active employees on Professional cost £25 plus 40 times £1.50, which is £85 a month. If the first size in the next bracket costs less, you pay that lower price. Above 1,000 employees we give you a quote. See UK pricing for the price calculator.
Getting started
- A leave export from your HR or payroll system as a CSV or Excel file, one row per leave record. Six to twelve months of history gives the scores enough to work with.
- Columns for employee number, surname, initials, leave type, start date, end date and number of days. A department column is optional.
- The nation whose bank holidays apply, and your Bradford Factor trigger points.
- An average daily salary figure for the cost of absence. Finance can usually supply this.
Our privacy notice sets out how we handle personal data.
Frequently asked questions
What is absence management software?
It takes the leave and absence records an employer already keeps and turns them into measures HR can act on: who is absent most, whether absence is rising, which employees have reached a trigger point and what absence costs. Appsentia does this for UK employers from a CSV or Excel export of their leave records.
Does Appsentia replace our HR system or payroll?
No. Appsentia does not record clock-ins, approve leave, keep leave balances or run payroll. It analyses the leave records those systems produce. An absence appears in Appsentia only if it is in the file you upload.
Does Appsentia calculate the Bradford Factor?
Yes. It works out each employee's Bradford Factor (spells x spells x days) over the last 52 weeks, shows it against the trigger points you set for your company, and alerts you when an employee reaches one. Absence you mark as excluded, such as disability-related or pregnancy-related absence, is kept out of the score.
Which UK HR and payroll systems does Appsentia connect to?
None directly. Export your leave records from any system as a CSV or Excel file and upload it. Appsentia suggests a mapping from your column names, and you check it on each upload.
Does Appsentia calculate Statutory Sick Pay?
No. Appsentia does not calculate Statutory Sick Pay. Check SSP in your payroll. If you give company sick pay, you can set the number of days per rolling 12 months, and each employee's report shows the days used and remaining.
How much does it cost?
The trial is free for 30 days for up to 10 employees. Professional is a £25 monthly platform fee plus a per-employee rate, with a minimum of £49 a month. Enterprise has a £35 platform fee and a minimum of £69 a month. Annual billing is 20% less. Prices are final. No VAT is added.