Staff sickness absence and turnover benchmarking across academy trusts

Employer Link has collected staff sickness absence and turnover data from academy trusts (ATs) across England, all of which are members of the National Heads of HR network. We asked for data for teachers and support staff to capture how many working days are lost to sickness absence (short and long term), as well as retention rates and turnover. We have analysed this data to highlight trends across academy trusts of different size, region and phases. 

This information serves as a useful tool for ATs to benchmark their sickness absence and turnover against similar organisations across England. Absence and turnover are both key indicators for staff wellbeing and job satisfaction, and have impact on outcomes for school children. Benchmarking enables a trust to identify any issues and anomalies against the ‘norm’, and target improvements accordingly.

The below summary outlines some key findings and provides examples of how ATs could use the data to benchmark their organisation against others across the academy sector.  

To find out about the full data set on offer for Employer Link subscribers, please contact [email protected]. New Employer Link subscribers will also be able to join the Heads of HR Network, gaining access to support across the sector. 

Key findings: turnover

• Upper quartile average for teacher turnover was 20 per cent, with some academies seeing more than one in five teachers leaving every school year.
• This is even higher for support staff, with an upper quartile average of 26 per cent. That’s a turnover of one in four 4 roles.

Comparing staff turnover across different organisations

Figure 1 indicates staff turnover on an annual basis. It shows that average turnover is highest among support staff in 16 to 19 phases and alternative provision compared to other school phases and types of academy.

Comparing staff turnover across different size academies and phases

Figure 2 shows that the size of the academy has varying impact on retention and turnover. Following on from Figure 1, secondary schools consistently see higher turnover than primaries, regardless of the size of the organisation.

Comparing staff turnover across terms

Figure 3 shows how turnover differs between terms. By a considerable margin, the Summer term sees the highest turnover for both teachers and support staff.

Key findings: sickness absence

• Employee absence is a significant challenge for many trusts. Some academies  reported losing over 1365 teaching days (the equivalent of seven teachers), while others lost in excess of 2000 support staff days (the equivalent of 10 members of staff).
• The overall average number of sick days for a teacher is 4.34.
• The overall average number of sick days for support staff is 7.04. 

Figure 4 shows how sickness absence varies for teachers and support staff in different types of academy.

Comparing staff sickness absence across different size trusts

Figure 5 shows that the size of the trust has varying impact on staff sickness absence. Similar to the trend in turnover, secondaries see higher short term absence among teachers than primaries, regardless of academy size.

For more information 

To find out more about the sickness absence and turnover data offer, the cost and how you can get access, or for any other questions about Employer Link and the National Heads of HR Network, please contact [email protected].