Absence Cost Calculator
Put a figure on absence: salary paid for days not worked, plus the premium cost of covering them with overtime or agency staff — and what one day off the average is worth.
Free · No sign-up · Nothing leaves your browser · Figures reviewed 22 September 2026
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Days where somebody else has to do the work.
Overtime at double time is a 100% premium; agency cover is usually 20–50%.
Lower it if work simply waits and is caught up later.
Annual cost of absence
₹35,75,040
840 days lost across 120 persons, at ₹2,800 a day.
- Salary paid for days not worked · 66%
- Cover and overtime · 34%
The direct cost
- Average annual salary
- ₹7,00,000
- Cost per working dayOver 250 working days
- ₹2,800
- Days lost a year7 a person
- 840
- Salary for days not worked
- ₹23,52,000
The cost of covering
- Days covered40% of absence days
- 336
- Premium over normal cost
- 30%
- Cover cost
- ₹12,23,040
Cover is usually overtime or agency, both of which cost more per hour than the person who is away.
Per unit
- Per employee a year
- ₹29,792
- As a share of payroll
- 4.3%
- Cost of one day cut from the averageWhat reducing average absence by a single day a year is worth
- ₹5,10,720
This counts salary and cover. It does not count the knock-on cost — delayed work, missed deadlines, the load on colleagues — which is usually larger and much harder to defend a number for.
Some absence is unavoidable and some is a signal. A rate that is falling towards zero is usually a sign people are coming in sick, which costs more than the day off would have.
Absence costs twice. The salary is paid whether or not the day is worked, and if the work still has to happen, it is covered by overtime or agency at a premium over the person who is away.
The last line is the useful one: what removing a single day from the average absence per person is worth. That is the budget an intervention has to beat.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does absenteeism cost a company?
- At a minimum, the salary for days not worked. Where the work has to be covered, add the premium for overtime or agency cover. Knock-on costs — delays, load on colleagues — are usually larger again and much harder to defend a number for.
- Is zero absence a good target?
- No. A rate falling towards zero usually means people are coming in sick, which spreads illness and produces poor work. The target is a stable, low rate rather than none.
About this tool
Built by the ViniOffice team. Figures and rules last reviewed 22 September 2026 against the statutory reference this team maintains. Indian statutory rates are date-effective and change by notification — confirm against the current one before running payroll or filing.
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