Absence Policy and Trigger Points in the UK

This guide covers England, Scotland and Wales. The sections of the Equality Act 2010 and the Employment Rights Act 1996 cited here extend to those three nations (legislation.gov.uk: Equality Act 2010, Employment Rights Act 1996). Northern Ireland has its own employment law, including the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

For the law behind each part of the policy, see our guide to UK employment law on sickness absence.

What the policy covers

Acas says employers should make clear what happens when workers need time off. You can have one policy or separate policies for different types of absence. Policies help everyone understand their responsibilities and help you manage absence consistently (Acas, creating absence policies).

Acas suggests the policies explain how you deal with time off for:

• holiday;
• care and support, for example family-related or bereavement leave;
• medical appointments;
• sickness, including pregnancy-related sickness; and
• disruption getting to work.

It also suggests you consider including (Acas):

• how workers book planned absence and report unplanned absence;
• how you handle unauthorised absence and lateness;
• whether you use a trigger point system and how it works;
• how workers keep in touch during absence, and the support available while they are off;
• what to do if someone needs time off for reasons related to a disability;
• support for workers returning to work; and
• what you pay during absence, for example sick pay or holiday pay.

Some parts must follow the law: Statutory Sick Pay, fit notes and time off for dependants (Acas). When you write or review the policy, involve any recognised trade union, and check whether an agreement requires this. If there is none, consult worker representatives. Share the policy with the whole organisation, keep it clear and train managers to apply it (Acas).

Reporting absence

Say who the employee should contact, by when, and how. For Statutory Sick Pay, the employee should tell you they are sick within the time limit you set, or within 7 days if you have not set one. You cannot insist that they tell you in person or on a special form (GOV.UK, SSP notice and fit notes).

Not following the policy for reporting an unexpected absence can count as unauthorised absence, for example when someone is off sick but does not tell you. Acas says employers should record lateness and unauthorised absence, and should first check that an employee who has not turned up is safe (Acas, unauthorised absence).

Evidence

Employees can self-certify for the first 7 days of sickness. After more than 7 days in a row, counting non-working days such as weekends and bank holidays, they must give you a fit note (GOV.UK, taking sick leave). Your policy can say how self-certification is done, for example on a form or by email. Our fit notes guide covers who can issue a note and what "may be fit for work" means.

Ask only for the information you need. The ICO says a simple absence record that gives the reason as "sickness", with no details of a medical condition, is not likely to be special category data, and suggests using absence records instead of sickness records where practical (ICO, sickness and injury records).

Return-to-work meetings

Acas says an employer should have a process to follow when someone returns to work, and that it should be in the absence policy. A return-to-work meeting is not a legal requirement. It is often an informal chat to check the worker is ready to return, see whether they need support and agree a plan, such as a phased return (Acas, returning to work after absence). Our guide to return-to-work interviews covers what to ask and how to record it.

Trigger points and review stages

Some policies set automatic triggers to review absence, called trigger points or review points. Acas says there are no legal rules about how or when absence should be reviewed. Review points are usually based on the number of absences in a period or the length of an absence (Acas, absence trigger points).

If you use review points, Acas says the policy should make clear (Acas):

• what the review points are;
• how you flag that an employee has reached one; and
• that reaching one starts an absence review.

Acas says review points should not automatically trigger disciplinary action. If employees see the system as punishment, they may come back to work too early when they are unwell (Acas).

For example levels set as Bradford Factor scores, labelled as examples and not a standard, see our Bradford Factor guide.

The absence review

Acas describes the review as a chance to look into the cause of the absence. Before deciding whether further steps are needed, talk with the employee to check on their wellbeing, discuss the reasons and see how you can support them. Consider whether (Acas):

• to refer them to occupational health;
• the absence might be disability-related, and what reasonable adjustments you could make;
• it relates to pregnancy or mental health, where a different approach may be needed;
• it was time off for dependants for an emergency;
• work caused any of it, such as an accident or work-related stress;
• more flexible working would help; and
• the absence is genuine. If not, it may need to be dealt with as misconduct.

Later stages

Acas guidance separates absence for illness or injury from absence for no good reason. Where disciplinary action is called for, use the normal disciplinary procedure. For frequent short-term absence, investigate at a return-to-work interview. In all cases, tell the employee what improvement in attendance you expect and the likely consequences if it does not happen (Acas guide to discipline and grievances at work, Appendix 4). A formal stage should follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Our guide to absence warning letters covers the letters and meetings.

The Bradford Factor as a review point

The Bradford Factor has no statutory source, and no law sets its trigger levels. If you use it as a review point, the levels are your company's own choice, and the Acas points above still apply. Our Bradford Factor guide explains the formula, and the Bradford Factor calculator works out a score.

Reasonable adjustments and excluded absence

Three sections of the Equality Act 2010 bear directly on absence review points:

• Discrimination arising from disability (s15). An employer discriminates if it treats a disabled person unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of their disability and cannot show the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. This does not apply if the employer did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, about the disability.
• Pregnancy and maternity discrimination (s18). An employer discriminates against a woman if, in or after the protected period of her pregnancy, it treats her unfavourably because of the pregnancy or because of illness she suffered in that period as a result of it.
• The duty to make reasonable adjustments (s20). Where a provision, criterion or practice puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled, the employer must take reasonable steps to avoid the disadvantage.

Acas gives examples of reasonable adjustments for absence: not counting some or all disability-related sickness absence towards trigger points, increasing the number of absences that triggers a review, and recording disability-related absence separately from other sickness absence (Acas, disability-related absence). It also says an employer could decide that absence related to disability or pregnancy will not count towards review points (Acas).

Recording these absences separately does not mean ignoring them. Acas says you should still speak to the employee to find out how you can support them (Acas, recording absence). Adjustments are specific to each person. Talk with them, consider medical advice such as an occupational health report, and weigh why they need the time off, the impact on them of not making an adjustment and the impact on the team (Acas).

Time off for dependants is not the employee's own sickness. Your policy should say which leave types count towards review points.

Long-term sickness

GOV.UK says an employee off sick for more than 4 weeks may be considered long-term sick, and is still entitled to annual leave. Dismissal is a last resort. Before it, the employer must consider whether the employee can return, for example by working flexibly or part-time or doing different work, and consult them about when they could return and whether their health will improve (GOV.UK, taking sick leave).

Acas guidance says that where absence is due to medically certificated illness, the issue is one of capability rather than conduct, and needs a more sympathetic approach, particularly if the employee is disabled. Keep in regular contact, and keep the employee fully informed if their employment is at risk. To contact the employee's doctor you need their written consent under the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 (Acas guide, Appendix 4). Agree with the employee how often you will be in touch and how (Acas, keeping in touch).

Capability, which includes capability assessed by reference to health, is one of the potentially fair reasons for dismissal. A tribunal then asks whether the employer acted reasonably in treating it as a reason to dismiss (Employment Rights Act 1996, s98).

Template outline

An outline to adapt to your organisation, not a finished policy. Each heading follows a point above. Check the final text against your contracts and take advice where you need it.

1. Purpose and scope. Who the policy covers and which types of absence.
2. Reporting absence. Who to contact, by when and how.
3. Evidence. Self-certification for the first 7 days, then a fit note.
4. Pay. Statutory Sick Pay, any company sick pay and how the two fit together.
5. Keeping in touch. How often, how, and with whom.
6. Returning to work. The return-to-work meeting and phased returns.
7. Review points. What they are, how an employee is told, and that reaching one starts a review, not a disciplinary.
8. Adjustments and excluded absence. How disability-related and pregnancy-related absence is recorded and whether it counts.
9. Long-term sickness. Contact, medical reports with consent, and adjustments.
10. Unauthorised absence and lateness. What counts and how it is handled.
11. Formal stages. A link to your disciplinary or capability procedure in line with the Acas Code, including the right of appeal.
12. Records and data protection. What you record, who can see it and how long you keep it.

In Appsentia

• Calculates the Bradford Factor and alerts you when an employee reaches one of your company's own trigger points.
• Keeps the leave types or single absences you exclude, such as disability-related or pregnancy-related absence, out of scoring.
• Works from leave types and dates. It does not store diagnoses or medical certificates.
• Imports leave from a CSV or Excel export of any HR or payroll system.

Sources

1. Acas, Creating absence policies, last updated 25 June 2026.
2. Acas, Absence trigger points, last updated 29 November 2024.
3. Acas, Disability-related absence, last updated 10 September 2024.
4. Acas, Recording absence, last updated 9 January 2025.
5. Acas, Unauthorised absence and lateness, last updated 24 January 2025.
6. Acas, Return to work meetings, last updated 1 October 2026; Keeping in touch during absence, last updated 7 April 2026.
7. Acas, Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures; Discipline and grievances at work: the Acas guide, Appendix 4.
8. Equality Act 2010, section 15, section 18 and section 20; Employment Rights Act 1996, section 98, legislation.gov.uk.
9. GOV.UK, Taking sick leave; Statutory Sick Pay employer guide: notice and fit notes.
10. ICO, How do we handle sickness and injury records? The ICO notes this guidance is under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act.

Sources checked on 11 November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.