Sick leave tracking sounds straightforward. In practice, most small businesses manage it informally — and that informality creates compliance risks and misses patterns that should trigger earlier support. Here is how to do it properly. What you need to record for every absence For every sickness absence, your records should include: Start date and return date — the full duration of the absence How the employee notified you — and when Self-certification — for absences of seven calendar days or fewer Fit note — for absences longer than seven calendar days (signed by a GP) Reason given — the reported cause (which may be general, e.g. "illness") Whether a return-to-work interview was held — and what was discussed If you are managing this in a spreadsheet, you are almost certainly missing some of these consistently. Statutory Sick Pay obligations For absences of four or more consecutive calendar days (including weekends), employees may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). The current SSP rate is £116.75 per week, payable from the fourth qualifying day. Employers must keep records that demonstrate whether SSP was paid correctly. This is where spreadsheet-based HR creates real compliance exposure — if records are incomplete, demonstrating compliance in an HMRC investigation becomes very difficult. Return-to-work interviews Return-to-work interviews are one of the most effective tools in absence management. They are short (10–15 minutes), supportive in tone, and serve three purposes: They signal to employees that absences are noticed — which itself reduces non-genuine absence They create an opportunity to identify and support underlying issues early They generate a written record that the absence was reviewed and discussed Many businesses skip return-to-work interviews entirely. This is a mistake — both from a culture standpoint and a legal one. The Bradford Factor and absence patterns The Bradford Factor scores each employee based on the pattern of their absences, not just total days off. An employee who takes 10 separate one-day absences scores much higher than one who takes a single two-week absence — because the former causes far more operational disruption. Modern absence tracking software calculates Bradford scores automatically and alerts managers when someone crosses a threshold — making it possible to have early conversations before patterns become serious problems. How HR software changes the picture When sick leave is managed in spreadsheets: Records are entered manually — and sometimes not at all Bradford Factor scores are never calculated Return-to-work interviews are not systematically tracked Pattern recognition requires significant manual analysis With dedicated HR software, employees self-certify through the platform, fit note reminders are sent automatically at the seven-day mark, Bradford scores update in real time, and return-to-work templates are built in. The result is a consistent, compliant process that does not depend on someone remembering to do the right thing. Comparing HR platforms for absence management If sickness management is a core requirement, it's worth checking how platforms compare: VeltoHR vs BreatheHR — both strong on UK absence management, different pricing models VeltoHR vs BrightHR — BrightHR includes HR advice line, VeltoHR has Bradford automation built in See all comparisons Final Thoughts Sick leave tracking is not just about knowing who is off. Done well, it protects the business legally, identifies employees who may need support, and creates a fair, consistent experience for everyone. Modern HR software makes most of this automatic — so the right data is captured every time, without anyone having to remember to do it.