Working time records for UK construction, kept straight

What the Working Time Regulations ask for

Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 asks employers to keep records adequate to show they comply with the limits, such as the 48-hour average working week (unless a worker has opted out) and the limits on night work, and to keep those records for two years.

You can keep them in whatever manner and format you reasonably think fit.

What changed in January 2024

Since 1 January 2024 you don't have to record each worker's daily hours, as long as you can show compliance without them. The change came from the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023.

On a building site, where hours change with the weather, the job and the crew, a daily record is still the simplest way to show it.

The limits in brief

Workers can't work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally measured over 17 weeks, unless they opt out. An opt-out must be voluntary and in writing and you must keep a record of it; nobody can be dismissed or treated unfairly for refusing, and a worker can cancel it with at least 7 days' notice, or up to 3 months if their agreement says so.

Workers over 18 are entitled to a 20-minute break when they work more than 6 hours, 11 hours' rest between working days, and 24 hours off each week or 48 hours each fortnight. Under-18s can't work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.

A record made on site, not on Friday

Each worker clocks in and out with the app, inside the site boundary, so start and finish times come from the site itself. Shifts that ran far too long or were never closed are flagged instead of counted quietly; when a manager closes one, the record says who did it and why.

Hours per week, per worker, per site

See any worker's hours for any period and export them per site or per worker as a spreadsheet, for an opt-out check, a client query, a dispute or your payroll bureau.

Workers see their own hours

Workers see every clock-in and clock-out in the app and can download their record, which settles most disagreements before they start.

Unpaid breaks without touching the clock-ins

On the Obra and Grupo plans, set your company's unpaid break rule once, for example 20 minutes on shifts longer than 6 hours. Paid hours on payslips deduct it automatically, and clock-in and clock-out times are never changed.