How to calculate absenteeism rate is a question a small employer asks when a lead says attendance has got worse and the employer wants a number rather than an impression. The formula is short: missed shifts divided by scheduled shifts, over a period, for a person or for the crew. Everything hard about it is in deciding what counts as missed and what counts as scheduled, and in keeping the two counts from the roll call rather than from memory. This page states the absenteeism formula, works it on a crew for a month, says what to include, and points at the free employee attendance tracker template on this site that computes the rate from scheduled and missed shifts, with no account.
The absenteeism formula, and its mirror the attendance rate
Absenteeism rate is missed shifts divided by scheduled shifts, multiplied by 100 for a percentage. Its mirror is the attendance rate, shifts worked divided by shifts scheduled, and the two add to 100. On the tracker template's worked month, a crew scheduled for 200 shifts that missed 12 has an absenteeism rate of 6% and an attendance rate of 94%. The same formula works per person: an employee scheduled for 20 shifts who missed 2 is at 10%, and comparing that to the crew's 6% is the whole point of computing it per person. Some employers count hours rather than shifts; the formula is the same with hours in both places, and for a crew on fixed shifts the shift count is easier to keep from the roll call.
What counts as missed, and what counts as scheduled
The rate is only as good as the two counts. A missed shift is a scheduled shift not worked: an unexcused absence and a no-call both count; a tardy does not, because the shift was worked, and it belongs in the on-time rate instead. An excused absence is the employer's choice to make and to record: held outside the count (scheduled shifts reduced by one) or counted as missed with the reason, but never silently. A scheduled shift is one on the roster before the shift started; a shift added the same day and then missed is a judgement the policy should settle in advance. The tracker template on this site takes scheduled, missed and late shifts and shows both rates from them.
One month, worked, for a crew and for the person dragging the rate
A crew of ten scheduled for 200 shifts in a month misses 12 and starts 18 late. Absenteeism rate 6%, attendance rate 94%, on-time rate 18 late out of 188 worked, so about 90.4% on time. Now the same month per person: eight of the crew missed one shift each, one missed none, and one missed four of their 20, a personal absenteeism rate of 20% against the crew's 6%. The crew figure says the month was ordinary; the per-person figure says one conversation is due. The attendance points calculator on this site shows where that one person stands against the policy's threshold, which is the number the conversation is about.
Benchmarks, and why the trend matters more
The Bureau of Labor Statistics table linked below publishes national absence rates for full-time wage and salary workers, and an employer who wants a benchmark can read the current figure there rather than take one from a template. For a crew the more useful comparison is its own rate month on month, computed the same way each time from the same two counts, because a rate that moves from 4% to 8% says something whatever the national figure is. The absences held outside the count should be the ones the law requires, leave under the FMLA and accommodations under the ADA among them; the Department of Labor's and the EEOC's pages linked below describe each.
Questions people ask about how to calculate absenteeism rate
What is the absenteeism formula?
Missed shifts divided by scheduled shifts, times 100. For hours, missed hours divided by scheduled hours. Its mirror, the attendance rate, is worked divided by scheduled, and the two add to 100. The free tracker template on this site computes both from the month's counts.
Do tardies count in the absenteeism rate?
No. A tardy is a shift that was worked, so it belongs in the on-time rate (shifts started on time divided by shifts worked), not the absenteeism rate. Keeping the two rates separate is what lets a lead see whether the problem is people not coming or people coming late.
What is a good absenteeism rate?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes national absence rates, linked on this page, for a benchmark. For a crew the number that matters is its own rate month on month, computed the same way each time; a rising rate is the signal, and the per-person rate says who to talk to.