Despite disrupting many workplaces, unexcused absences still occur in significant numbers. The government even reports that some industries suffer a 4% loss of staff every day, which can hugely impact productivity and morale.
However, determining an acceptable limit for a specific business is often challenging and can depend on many unique factors. So, what is the best way to determine how many unexcused absences are allowed at work on average in your industry, and what number should be allowed for your business?
Below, we offer insight into how a company can define and enforce an employee absence policy tailored to its unique needs. Discover:
- Good benchmarks
- Best absence practices
- Your legal requirements
- How TimeTrak can help
So, get ready to learn how to satisfy the needs of your peers and employees with better attendance management strategies that can reduce absences and boost productivity.
Define Clear Absence Limits
If your business does not have clear and documented absence rules, any grey area may encourage people to take as many absences as possible. One of the first steps you will need to take is to define clear absence limits to promote a fair allocation among your employees.
Many benchmarks suggest that allowing between two and five unexcused benchmarks is common, depending on the industry. Locations that are more likely to have a naturally higher number of absences or closer interactions with members of the public who may make them ill, such as the service industry, may allow for more absences. For example, while the United States has an average 2.2% absence rate, this swings between 2.73% for public admin and transport roles and 1.15% for the mining industry.
Of course, this may relate to more than illness, and many interplaying factors could offer a variety of reasons to set your absence allowance higher or lower. For example, the culture of presenteeism in different industries may also play a significant role. Absence limits can be one step in improving employee attendance by making it less of a problem should people choose to take time off when their presence would only cause more issues
How Many Unexcused Absences Are Allowed at Work Across Industries?
When researching industry-specific absences, use studies or surveys focusing on such data. For example, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has several data points that can help you identify what might be acceptable.
Compare your workplace attendance guidelines against those of others in your industry. If possible, you should also investigate your direct competitors. Doing this can encourage people to think of you as a fairer employee, and offering more can even make you more competitive when it comes to hiring.
You will also need to familiarize yourself with sick leave laws, as well as other protected leave forms, such as:
- FMLA
- ADA
- Local or state leave laws
- Medical leave
When you create policies, clearly document that you aim to follow these laws, enabling some people to have different amounts of leave. Also, train managers to understand their part in ensuring your business adheres to these.
Align Limits with Your Specific Needs
As well as different industries offering a variety of terms regarding unexcused absences, you may need to consider other factors. For example:
- Remote or hybrid roles may need more flexibility
- Seasonal workloads requiring temporary thresholds
- Customer-facing or solo roles that have different levels of exposure to risk
- Unique circumstances affecting employee well-being
Balancing your needs with those of your employees can often ensure your staff feels more comfortable with using such absences as a valuable resource, boosting staff satisfaction.
Best Absence Practices
When you set up your business’ policies, ensure they are as transparent as possible to help foster trust in your process and to reduce the number of disputes you are likely to see. Having a clear path of communication such as this ensures that both sides understand:
- Limits to the days people can use
- Consequences for exceeding limits
- Attendance issue escalation procedures
- The reasons for choosing specific limits
- How to increase limits in exceptional circumstances
Give your employees a sense that they have agency should situations occur outside both your and their control. Doing this will give them the confidence to approach you or their manager should they need help handling such an issue and discussing how to respond to it professionally.
When there are issues and people show a disregard for these rules, make sure to then enforce your policies consistently. Doing this will ensure people respect both these regulations, as well as others around the company, as well as reduce accusations of favoritism.
Legal Requirements
Make sure you account for the fact that several laws will allow specific individuals to take more time off on a case-by-case basis, which will count as excused absences. Your staff should be aware of these, so they do not miscategorize them. They include, but are not limited to:
FMLA leave: This federal law allows individuals to take up to 12 weeks of leave within a 12-month period for:
- Childbirth
- Adoption
- Child foster placement
- Serious health conditions
- Caring for family members with severe health conditions
Several other qualifying circumstances exist, and you should discuss individual situations with a legal professional to ensure you comply with the regulations.
Military leave: Military members should automatically have excused absences if required for any reason by the federal or local government.
ADA: The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employees to offer “reasonable accommodations” for those with disabilities. In some cases, this may include excused absences.
How TimeTrak Can Help
Your attendance policies can directly impact employee satisfaction and efficiency, helping those in the office work to their peak performance. To enable this, you must clearly communicate how many unexcused absences are allowed at work, backed up by data that will help you to make changes to best fit your company.
Advanced tools such as TimeTrak can boost your system’s transparency with time and attendance tracking, helping employees and managers when it comes to handling absenteeism effectively. So, visit TimeTrak and sign up to learn how we can make your attendance management as simple and effective as possible.
