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Glossary
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Working time records

Working time records are the documents an employer keeps to show that hours rules and pay rules are being met. Two separate duties drive them: the Working Time Regulations 1998 require records adequate to show the 48-hour average limit and the night work limits are observed, kept for two years; and minimum wage law requires records sufficient to show every worker has been paid at least the National Minimum Wage, kept for six years.

What "adequate" looks like in practice

The law doesn't prescribe a format, but for a shift team a sensible set is:

  • The published rota and the hours actually worked — including early starts, late finishes and handovers.
  • Clock-in and clock-out times, with breaks taken.
  • A list of who has signed a 48-hour opt-out, and copies of the agreements.
  • Night workers' hours and health assessment dates.

Beyond compliance

Good time records earn their keep well before an inspection: they make pay accurate, they drive holiday accrual for irregular-hours staff, and they settle most disputes about hours quickly and calmly, because everyone is looking at the same numbers.

Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 9 (two-year retention); National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 record-keeping rules (six-year retention). HMRC and HSE can both ask to see records.

Tommy's time clock builds this record automatically — rostered hours, clocked hours and breaks, kept together and easy to look up later.

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