Leave Patterns
This report is provided by EDConnect and is part of the suite of EDConnect operational reports available via Scout.
The Leave Patterns report provides staff members’ leave information which can assist to identify and monitor leave patterns.
Executive Directors and Directors, Educational Leadership can view all schools within their Principal Network.
How will this report benefit me?
This report focuses on leave usage throughout a calendar year.
There are many benefits of effective leave management for both the department and employees. These include reviewing:
- Employees who are taking regular periods of leave, so management can ensure wellbeing and work-life balance;
- offering support to employees who are facing short or long-term health issues;
- ensuring staff do not accrue high amounts of leave which can be difficult for the department to manage; and
- offering professional development opportunities to staff who are backfilling for leave periods.
What does the Leave Patterns report provide?
This four page report provides the following information:
Page 1 – Absences Over Time
Staff Head Count by Date
- This chart shows a calendar. Each square represents a day.
- The darker the square, the higher the number of absences.
- Hover over the square to show date and number of employees absent on the day. Note: the report counts an employee if there is a leave recorded even for a partial day. On very rare occasions an employee could have a leave day captured in legacy system for a period without specifying the day (e.g.: a week), in such cases, the employee’s leave day is spread across the entire duration of the week (totalling the leave time to be equal for the leave duration); however, note that this will show the employee being on the leave on every day of the week.
- Use the slicers to select an Employment Level, Leave Type Category, Leave Type Name and / or Employee Name.
- Leave Type includes a category called Multiple Concurrent Leave Types which may consist of different types of leave used to take a period of leave of absence. Note that for employees who had multiple leaves recorded in the legacy systems, the report shows as a Multiple Concurrent Leave for the employee.
Page 2 – Percentage at Work
Paid Days by Activity Type Indicator
- This bar chart displays the percentage of hours at work vs not at work, i.e. on leave.
- When used in conjunction with the calendar year and employment level slicers, it can help to identify trends, for example an increase or decrease in leave over the last 3 years by a specific employment level.
Paid Days by Activity Type Category and Activity Type Indicator
- This column chart displays leave use, by paid days not at work, by calendar year. It provides a breakdown of the types of leave taken through the year.
- Use the calendar year slicer to select a year.
Page 3 - Paid not at Work Time
Paid Days by Calendar Week and Leave Type Category
- This column chart displays a breakdown of leave taken by weeks during the selected year.
Annual Leave
- This tile displays total days of annual leave taken in the selected year.
Long Service Leave
- This tile displays total days of long service leave taken in the selected year.
Workers Compensation
- This tile displays total days of workers compensation leave taken in the selected year.
Family and Community Service Leave
- This tile displays total days of family and community service leave taken in the selected year.
Sick Leave
- This tile displays total days of sick leave taken in the selected year.
Use the calendar year slicer to change the year for all visualisations.
Use the employment level slicer to filter to one employment level, e.g. Classroom Teachers.
Page 4 - Leave Patterns by Headcount:
Staff Head Count by Month and Activity Type Category
- The column chart displays the count of staff who took leave on a month-by-month basis by each Activity Type Category. The X-axis displays month, and the Y-axis displays the count of staff. The type of leave taken is colour-coded.
- The table ‘Staff Leave Category for Selected School (Only 1 School Shown)’ on the bottom half of the page, supplements the above chart by displaying the Employee ID, Employee Name, Activity Type Category and the Total Working Days of leave taken.
- Use the employment level slicer to filter to one employment level, e.g. Classroom Teacher.
- Use the Age Band slicer to filter to one 10-year age band, e.g. 45-54.
- Use the Employee Gender slicer to filter to either Male or Female.
This information can be used to identify any leave patterns and if there has been an increase or decrease in leave taken.
How can I use the Leave Patterns report to support my school self-assessment?
- The leading domain of the School Excellence Framework (SEF) notes that: “leaders in excellent schools ensure that operational issues, such as staff leave and meeting curriculum requirements, serve the overarching strategic vision of the school.”
- Workforce productivity: managers will have the ability to analyse leave activity, take steps to address high absenteeism and the costs associated.
- Staff health and wellbeing: to identify sick leave patterns where support strategies may be required to ensure that staff take recreation leave as required.
- Individual employee accountability: to enable manager-employee conversations regarding leave patterns, such as leave frequency.
- Short-term workforce planning: to identify if there are typical peaks and troughs for staff taking leave (e.g. Sick/LSL Leave) and to plan for adequate staff levels to cover these periods.
What should I look for?
- Monitor unscheduled absences (such as Sick Leave) for any concerning patterns (e.g. days of the week, time of the year). If a sick leave pattern is identified, discuss potential reasons with staff members and any support required to improve attendance. Monitor the changes in the reports on a monthly basis.
- Refer to the charts to explore leave usage, including the type of leave taken throughout the year.
Where does this data come from?
HR system (SAP HR), Leave Management System (LMS), PEPS and PERS.
How frequently is data updated?
Daily.
Supporting links
For more information about some of these reports you can follow the below links: