Keep records of absent days. Draw up a scatter graph showing total days absence against number of occasions absent. (An occasion is one continuous period of absence, three days together is one occasion for example.)

Most of us are clustered around the one or two occasions a year with three to five days in total. Some people are never absent; some have major illnesses and will have many days absence. Some people will have a pattern of many occasions and many days absence. This could be the “duvet day” showing up.

You must find out why people are absent and not jump to conclusions.

You can use the scatter graph to look for employees whose pattern of attendance looks unsatisfactory. You must then find out why and what can be done to resolve the issue.

You need to sit down and discuss the numbers face to face, explain what they mean and ask why so many days absence. (There are arithmetical methods which weight the absences to more clearly differentiate satisfactory and unsatisfactory attendance. The weighted numbers are difficult to explain to employees and the result is unsatisfactory.)

Absence days are a sure sign that people don’t want to come to work, that they aren’t motivated.