Working time records: what must employers keep?

If your shift ran late, your break disappeared or travel between care visits went unpaid, write it down today. Your employer must keep adequate evidence of working-time compliance and records that show you were paid at least the minimum wage. The rota is not the shift you actually worked. Keep your own note before details fade.

What you must keep

There is no general duty to buy a time-and-attendance system. There are separate duties to keep evidence, and the same timesheet may help meet several of them.

For working time, regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 requires records “adequate to show” compliance with the 48-hour average weekly limit, young-worker limits, night-work limits, night-worker health assessments and young-worker night-work rules. A contract showing stable hours, backed by reliable records of any extra work, may be enough. A planned rota alone cannot prove what happened when shifts changed.

For minimum wage, regulation 59 of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 requires records sufficient to establish that each worker received at least the minimum in each pay reference period. A period cannot exceed one month. You must be able to produce the information for each worker and period in a single document. Where relevant, keep daily-average agreements for unmeasured work, output-work notices and the data supporting output calculations. Computer records are allowed.

For tax, HMRC requires PAYE records of pay and deductions, reports and payments to HMRC, leave and sickness absences, tax codes, expenses and benefits, and Payroll Giving documents. Keep them for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to. Failure can attract a penalty of up to £3,000.

How long to keep each record

Match the record to the duty before setting a deletion date. Six years is often right for a combined hours-and-pay file, but it is not a blanket minimum for every employment record.

For monthly minimum-wage records covering a pay reference period ending 30 September 2026, the next period ends on 31 October. The 6-year clock starts on 1 November 2026. Keep the records through 31 October 2032. The extra month is easy to miss if your system simply deletes files six years after payday.

Opt-outs and the 48-hour average

Where the 48-hour average limit applies, an employer relying on an opt-out must first obtain the worker’s agreement in writing. Keep that agreement and an up-to-date list of opted-out workers, as required by regulation 4(2). The list has no stated fixed retention period. Keep it current while opt-outs operate, then assess how long you need the agreements as evidence. An opt-out does not remove the separate night-work or rest rights.

A worker can end the opt-out on 7 days’ written notice unless the agreement specifies a longer notice period, which cannot exceed 3 months. The usual averaging period is 17 weeks. Certain activities covered by regulation 21 use 26 weeks, and relevant agreements can change the reference period. Record which rule you use, rather than treating every worker’s calculation as identical.

Sickness and statutory holiday cannot simply be entered as zero hours to lower the average. Regulation 4(6) and (7) requires an adjustment using work after the reference period to account for excluded days. Keep the leave dates and the calculation alongside the final average.

Night-work averaging uses a different denominator. Under regulation 6, divide normal working hours by the days in the reference period after deducting the weekly-rest allowance. You do not divide night hours by the number of shifts. For example, 17 weeks contain 119 days. With 17 full days of weekly rest, the denominator is 102. Normal hours of 816 give an average of 8 hours; 918 give 9, above the usual limit. For night work involving special hazards or heavy strain, the rule is an absolute 8 hours in any 24-hour period containing night work, not an average.

You need adequate evidence, not a particular system

Since 1 January 2024, regulation 9(2) and (3) expressly allows whatever record format the employer reasonably thinks fit. Daily-hours recording is not required where compliance can be demonstrated without it. Paper timesheets, spreadsheets and payroll exports can all contribute. Door-entry logs may help, but entering a building is not necessarily starting work.

For stable hours, a simple file may be sufficient. Rotating nights, zero-hours staff and agency assignments need closer tracking of actual work. We recommend the following checks for a variable-hours workforce. They are practical ways to meet the evidence duties, not a statutory specification for your software.

1. Record actual work. Capture start and finish times where needed, unpaid breaks, extra shifts and changes to the rota. Keep evidence of night-worker health assessments separately from ordinary attendance data.
2. Link hours to pay. For each worker and minimum-wage pay reference period, make it possible to produce one document showing the relevant hours, qualifying pay and deductions that reduce it, such as required uniform costs.
3. Keep the supporting agreements. File written opt-outs and withdrawal notices. Keep daily-average agreements and output-work notices where those minimum-wage methods apply.
4. Record holiday entitlement and payment. Keep entitlement calculations, leave taken, carry-over, holiday-pay elements, payments for unused leave on departure and any rolled-up holiday-pay amount.
5. Make corrections traceable. Preserve the original entry, the revised entry, who changed it, when and why. Restrict editing access, back up the records and check that you can still retrieve them after a payroll-system change.

For care workers, write down travel between visits as well as time with each client. In hospitality, note a trial shift, closing work or deductions for uniform. Warehouse pickers, delivery workers, cleaners and NHS support staff should record changed shifts and work after clocking out. Unpaid hours that should have been paid are wage theft.

Payslips, rolled-up holiday pay and sick pay

Attendance and payroll records need to agree. You should be able to follow an absence or shift through to the amount on the payslip.

In Great Britain, section 8 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires workers to receive an itemised pay statement at or before payment. Where pay varies with time worked, it must state the relevant number of hours. Compare that figure with the attendance record before payroll closes.

For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, employers in Great Britain can use rolled-up holiday pay for qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers. The statutory uplift is 12.07% of pay for work done, paid alongside that pay and identified separately on the payslip. If the relevant pay is £1,000, the uplift is £120.70. Keep the calculation and the payment in the holiday file. Separate averaging rules apply during sickness or statutory leave. Rolled-up pay does not remove the worker’s right to take holiday.

The dedicated statutory sick-absence record duty was revoked on 6 April 2014, but you still need absence and payment evidence to administer Statutory Sick Pay and meet other record duties. From 6 April 2026, SSP is £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. The lower earnings limit and waiting days have been removed. Someone with average weekly earnings of £130 has a weekly SSP rate of £104; someone on £200 reaches the £123.25 cap. The daily payment depends on the employee’s qualifying days.

Keep statutory family-pay evidence too. The 2026 to 2027 standard weekly rate is £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Maternity and adoption pay have an exception for the first 6 weeks, paid at 90% without that cap. For example, HMRC’s maternity-pay guidance requires pregnancy evidence, payment dates, calculations and amounts reclaimed to be kept for 3 years from the end of the relevant tax year. Check the guidance for each payment you administer. A shorter payment-record duty does not override a longer holiday or minimum-wage duty applying to the same evidence.

If records are missing

Missing records can lead to an access claim, enforcement action or a failed defence to underpayment. These are separate consequences.

If you think your hours or pay are wrong, start with evidence you can keep without permission.

1. Make a note after each shift. Record the date, start and finish, breaks, extra duties, travel between jobs and who changed the rota. Keep it on a personal device or paper at home.
2. Save what already exists. Keep copies of rotas, clocking records you can access, messages, payslips, bank entries and uniform or other required deductions. Do not alter an original record.
3. Ask for the hours and pay records in writing. If you reasonably believe you may have been underpaid the minimum wage, use a section 10 production notice. The usual deadline is 14 days; a later date can be agreed. Ask Acas or Citizens Advice for help wording it.
4. Get advice before a deadline passes. Acas early conciliation is relevant to an employment tribunal claim. From 1 October 2026, the usual tribunal time limit is 6 months, but claim type and transitional rules matter. Contact Acas, Citizens Advice, a law centre or your union promptly.

A union can help you challenge unfair records; GOV.UK explains how to find a union for your job. Report suspected minimum-wage underpayment to HMRC. Contact the Fair Work Agency if labour exploitation or a gangmaster is involved, and raise working-time health and safety concerns with HSE or your council (HSENI in Northern Ireland). If hours or shifts are part of discrimination, get advice from the Equality Advisory and Support Service in Great Britain, or the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. These routes do different jobs. Before most tribunal claims you must notify Acas for early conciliation (the Labour Relations Agency in Northern Ireland).

A worker who reasonably believes they may have been paid below the minimum wage can serve a production notice under section 10 of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. The employer must allow access to the relevant records within 14 days, unless a later date is agreed, at the workplace or another reasonable place. The worker may inspect and copy them and bring a companion. If a tribunal upholds a complaint about refused access, section 11 requires an award of 80 times the hourly minimum wage in force when the award is made. At £12.71, that is £1,016.80. A subject-access request is a separate route to the worker’s personal data, not an unrestricted right to every company document.

Failure to keep adequate working-time records is a criminal offence under regulation 29. HSE or the relevant enforcing authority can take enforcement action, including prosecution. Failure to meet the annual-leave record duty is also a criminal offence. The amended rules allow the Secretary of State to prosecute holiday-record offences in England and Wales. Do not confuse that power with a general promise that every holiday underpayment can already be recovered by the Fair Work Agency.

Minimum-wage record falsification is separately criminal. Underpayment can bring arrears, a financial penalty and public naming. The usual penalty is 200% of arrears, capped at £20,000 per worker, with a £100 minimum. It is reduced by half if all arrears and half the penalty are paid within 14 days. Arrears are uplifted where the current applicable minimum-wage rate is higher. The Fair Work Agency’s enforcement statement explains that HMRC officers enforce minimum wage on its behalf. The agency was established on 7 April 2026; HMRC’s involvement did not simply end.

In minimum-wage proceedings, section 28 places the burden of proving payment on the employer. Missing records therefore matter directly. Do not assume the same statutory presumption governs all holiday or working-time claims, although missing evidence can still damage a defence.

From 1 October 2026, the government’s implementation timetable confirms the extension of employment tribunal time limits from 3 to 6 months. Scotland’s tribunal breach-of-contract change took effect on 9 November 2026. Check the deadline and any transitional rules for the particular claim, including the effect of Acas early conciliation. Neither the headline time limit nor your retention policy determines how far back money can be recovered.

Who is covered and who keeps agency records

Working-time and minimum-wage duties generally cover workers, not only employees. That includes agency temps, casuals and zero-hours staff who meet the relevant statutory definition. A genuinely self-employed person running their own business is outside these worker protections. The label in a contract does not settle status. Keep evidence of the actual arrangement if status is disputed.

For agency workers, identify the party treated as employer under the applicable legislation. It is usually the agency that pays the worker, but the arrangement matters. Hirers should record actual hours and pass accurate information to the agency. An agreement about sharing data helps prevent gaps; it cannot transfer a statutory duty away from the party that owes it.

Guaranteed-hours, reasonable shift-notice and short-notice payment rights, including provisions for agency workers, are in the Employment Rights Act 2025 but not yet in force; the government says it will set the timing after its consultation. Do not invent a new statutory retention period for them. Accurate hours histories will help prepare for the reference-period calculations once the detailed rules are settled.

Young workers generally have stricter limits of 8 hours a day and 40 a week, plus special night-work rules. A weekly average alone cannot establish daily compliance. Transport workers, seafarers, fishing crews and some armed-forces activities have separate or modified rules. Check the regime for the work before applying this guide’s general retention periods.

Scotland follows the Great Britain working-time record rules. Agricultural wage rules can require additional pay evidence, including in Scotland. If you employ staff in more than one nation, identify the applicable law in your retention schedule rather than assuming every GB amendment is UK-wide. See our guide to employment-law differences in Northern Ireland.

Biometrics, monitoring and privacy

A fingerprint or face-recognition clock is worker monitoring. Under the ICO’s monitoring guidance, you need a lawful basis, a necessary and proportionate purpose, and clear information for staff. Biometric data used to identify someone uniquely is special-category data, so an Article 9 condition is also needed. Staff agreement alone is not enough. Consent is difficult to rely on where workers cannot freely refuse.

Assess privacy risks before introducing monitoring. Carry out a data protection impact assessment where processing is likely to pose a high risk, including biometric identification systems. Consider a non-biometric alternative, restrict access and explain what you collect, why and when you delete it. A 6-year duty to keep pay evidence does not mean you must keep fingerprint templates for six years. Keep only the data needed for the relevant purpose.

For CCTV, location tracking and other monitoring, see Can my employer monitor me at work? Our guide to employee data breaches explains the enforcement role of the Information Commission (formerly the ICO).

Reforms timeline

1. 1 Jan 2024Flexible working-time records

   GB regulation 9 expressly allows a reasonable format and no automatic daily-hours recording. Rolled-up holiday-pay provisions also take effect, usable for qualifying leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024.

2. 18 Dec 2025Employment Rights Act receives Royal Assent

   The Act provides for holiday-record duties, the Fair Work Agency, sick-pay reform and guaranteed-hours rights. Royal Assent alone does not bring every provision into force.

3. 6 Apr 2026Holiday records and sick pay change

   The GB 6-year annual-leave record duty takes effect. SSP loses the lower earnings limit and waiting days; the weekly rate is £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

4. 7 Apr 2026Fair Work Agency established

   The agency brings together labour-market enforcement functions. HMRC officers enforce minimum wage on its behalf.

5. 1 Oct 2026Tribunal time limits extended

   The extension from 3 to 6 months takes effect. Check claim-specific and transitional rules. Scotland’s tribunal contract-claim change is scheduled for 9 November.

6. Timing unconfirmedGuaranteed-hours reforms

   Guaranteed hours, reasonable shift notice and short-notice payments are in the Employment Rights Act 2025 but not yet in force; the government says it will set the timing after its consultation.

Questions people ask

Do I have to buy a clock-in system?

No. You need adequate evidence, not a prescribed device. In Great Britain, regulation 9 expressly permits a reasonable format and does not require daily recording where compliance can be shown without it. A simple system must still capture enough information for the hours and pay duties that apply.

How long must I keep timesheets?

Keep them for 2 years if they serve only the working-time record duty. Where they also support minimum-wage or GB holiday compliance, the 6-year duties apply, with different starting points. Use the latest applicable expiry date. Do not treat six years from payday as sufficient for every minimum-wage file.

Can a worker see their own hours records?

A worker with reasonable grounds to suspect minimum-wage underpayment can request relevant records through a production notice. The usual access deadline is 14 days, unless a later date is agreed. A subject-access request covers their personal data. Payslip-hour duties provide another check where pay varies with time worked, but these rights do not give unrestricted access to other workers’ records.

Is fingerprint clocking-in legal?

It can be, but an employer must justify the processing, have a lawful basis and an Article 9 condition, assess the privacy risks and tell workers what happens to their data. Consent is not a shortcut if staff cannot freely refuse. A less intrusive way to record attendance may meet the same need.

Who keeps records for agency temps?

The party treated as employer under the relevant rules has the statutory duty, usually the paying agency. Hirers should supply reliable actual-hours data. Check the arrangement rather than assuming a contract between agency and hirer removes either party’s legal responsibilities.

Are the rules different in Northern Ireland?

Yes. Northern Ireland has its own working-time regulations and a 2-year records duty. The GB flexible-recording amendments and new 6-year holiday-record duty do not extend there. UK minimum-wage and PAYE retention rules still apply, so a Northern Ireland hours-and-pay file may also need six years.

Sources

1. Working Time Regulations 1998, including regulations 4, 5, 6, 9, 16A and 29, legislation.gov.uk
2. Employment Rights Act 2025, section 35, annual-leave records, legislation.gov.uk
3. Employment Rights Act 2025 commencement regulations, SI 2026/323, legislation.gov.uk
4. Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023, legislation.gov.uk
5. Keeping holiday records, Acas
6. National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015, regulation 59, legislation.gov.uk
7. National Minimum Wage Act 1998, sections 9 to 11 and 28, legislation.gov.uk
8. Employers and the minimum wage, GOV.UK
9. Keeping PAYE records, GOV.UK
10. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 8, itemised pay statements, legislation.gov.uk
11. Rates and thresholds for employers, 2026 to 2027, GOV.UK
12. Statutory maternity pay records, GOV.UK
13. Minimum wage rates for 2026, GOV.UK
14. Fair Work Agency enforcement statement, GOV.UK
15. Employment Rights Act implementation timetable, GOV.UK
16. Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014, legislation.gov.uk
17. Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016, regulation 11, legislation.gov.uk
18. Monitoring workers, Information Commissioner’s Office
19. Right to work checks: employers’ guide, GOV.UK
20. Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, legislation.gov.uk
21. Over 370,000 workers were underpaid in April 2024, Low Pay Commission
22. National Minimum Wage: 2024 to 2025 Enforcement and Compliance Report, HMRC and Department for Business and Trade
23. Compliance and enforcement of the National Minimum Wage in 2024, Low Pay Commission