What is Absenteeism?

This comprehensive glossary of human resource terms defines words and phrases frequently used by HR professionals.

Absenteeism policy is a strategy organisations' use to regulate attendance and time taken off work by an employee, in order to deal with workplace absenteeism.

Absence definition

A policy about attendance requirements, scheduled and unscheduled time off, and measures for dealing with workplace absenteeism. Repeated absenteeism can lead to termination. Time taken off work by an employee, split into authorised absence and unauthorised absence.

It’s important for HR departments to have a clear and comprehensive absence policy in place that includes acceptable and unacceptable reasons for absence. It should detail procedures for reporting absence i.e. when and how employees should make contact when they expect to be absent.

An absenteeism policy is an effective method for monitoring, moderating and reducing absenteeism in your company. These information helps employers obtain info on employees' productivity and absence patterns.