Absence patterns noticed early,
and handled fairly.
Staff Absence & HR replaces the paper leave form with online requests and approvals, scores sickness absence with the Bradford Factor, and makes sure every return-to-work conversation is recorded.
Runs on top of Timetable & Attendance, so switch that on too.
Staff absence is still run on paper and memory.
- Today · 01
A paper form and three re-typings
Leave is a signed form in a tray. A sick call goes into a calendar, then the timetable tool, then the cover sheet, and every copy can be wrong.
- Today · 02
Patterns nobody adds up
Repeated one-day absences only show when someone counts them by hand, so the supportive conversation happens late, or not at all.
- Today · 03
Return-to-work talks that slip
Someone is back on Monday, the meeting should happen that week, and nobody can say afterwards whether it did.
One record of every absence, from request to return.
One request, straight to the cover board
Staff request leave or report an absence in FirstDay. Approved leave and reported absences go onto the cover board at once, and each request and decision is kept as a PDF.
A score that prompts a conversation
Each person's Bradford Factor is worked out from their sickness absence. Crossing a band you set prompts an informal, formal or final review. It never takes any action itself.
Every return to work on record
When an absence ends, a return-to-work conversation falls due after the working days you choose. Outstanding and overdue ones stay listed until someone records it.
From the first sick call to the return-to-work meeting.
- 01
Set your rules
Choose one-step or two-step approval, when the leave year starts, the three review thresholds and which absence reasons count. Training and annual leave don't count by default.
- 02
Staff request leave or report an absence
Leave types follow your school's country: in Poland, annual, on-demand, L4, childcare and the rest, each with its legal basis. "I'm absent today" puts the absence on the cover board before school, and the kind is chosen later.
- 03
A director approves, HR confirms
Approve, or deny with a reason and offer unpaid leave instead. The teacher is emailed the decision, and an optional signature is printed on the request and decision forms.
Pending requests and today's absences in one inbox. - 04
Review patterns, record returns
The overview ranks staff by Bradford score, each explained spell by spell. Mark a spell as a reasonable adjustment and it stops counting, with the discount always shown.
Who uses Staff Absence & HR
HR Lead
Confirms leave, adjusts allowances and thresholds, records return-to-work outcomes and exports for inspection.
Director / Head
Approves or denies leave, logs a phoned-in absence, and sees who is off today and whether their lessons are covered.
Teachers and staff
Request leave, report an absence before school and follow each request, without seeing anyone else's data.
Cover coordinator
Absences arrive on the cover board as soon as they're approved or reported, so cover can be planned early.
Everything in Staff Absence & HR
- One-step or two-step approval: a director approves, HR confirms
- Leave types by country: the full Polish set with legal basis, or a simple set
- Leave balances from working time and service years, with HR overrides
- "I'm absent today" self-report, or logged on someone's behalf
- Approved and reported absences go straight onto the cover board
- Optional signatures and a Polish–English PDF per request and decision
- Bradford Factor scores with three review bands you set
- Reasonable-adjustment discount, always shown beside the score
- Return-to-work due dates and an overdue list; notes kept out of exports
- Hours per week against contract, inspection export and CSV downloads
€59 per school per month, whatever your headcount.249 zł per school per month, whatever your headcount.
Added to any FirstDay plan and billed alongside it. Switch it off at any time from Settings → Modules.
Get startedQuestions about
Staff Absence & HR.
Why does Staff Absence & HR need Timetable & Attendance?
Staff absences are recorded on the cover board, which is part of Timetable & Attendance. Staff HR scores those absences and puts approved leave there, so cover is planned from the same record.
How is it priced?
One flat price: 249 zł (€59) per school per month, whatever your headcount. There is no charge per member of staff. Timetable & Attendance is billed separately, per student.
Who can see Bradford scores and absence history?
Only people you give Staff HR access to, such as HR, directors and line managers. It is never part of the default staff role, and staff who request leave see only their own requests, not their score or anyone else's.
Isn't the Bradford Factor unfair to some staff?
Applied mechanically, it can disadvantage people with disability- or pregnancy-related absence. So only sickness counts by default, any spell can be discounted as a reasonable adjustment, and a high score prompts a conversation, never an automatic step.
Does it cover office and support staff?
Yes. Office, caretaking and support staff can be added as non-teaching staff and use leave requests, allowances and hours per week. They never appear on the timetable, in cover or on registers.
Does it run payroll or fetch sick notes?
No. There are no pay rates, costs or payroll, and e-ZLA sick-note dates are typed in rather than fetched. The PDFs and the inspection export are records to hand on; your personnel file stays the official one.
Absence patterns noticed early, and handled fairly.
Start with FirstDay, switch on Staff Absence & HR, and have it running this week.