Working Time Regulations in the UK: A comprehensive guide

The UK's Working Time Regulations (1998) set a limit of 48 hours a week over a 17-week period where an employee may be required to work. There's also a limit on the maximum number of hours worked per day (8 hours), a right to a minimum of 11 hours of daily rest, and the entitlement to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave. Workers also have the right to rest breaks, depending on the length of the working day.

The Working Time Regulations brought the EU's Working Time Directive into UK law, and were amended in 2003 to extend protections to further groups of workers — including railway and offshore workers. Although many organisations call the regulations by their formal name, they may also be referred to as the 'working time directive' or 'maximum weekly working hours' informally.

At a minimum, your organisation is expected to understand three key aspects of the law: maximum working time, rest breaks, and annual leave entitlement.

The Working Time Directive states that employees can’t work more than 48 hours per week unless they opt out of the constraint in writing. Employees can work more than 48 hours in a given week as long as their average number of work hours doesn’t exceed 48 within the timeframe. 

Some industries are exempt from the 48 hour time limit. For example, nurses typically work more because their industries require a 24 hour presence. Some employees have lower limits for working hours. For example, employees under the age of 18 can only work up to 40 hours a week. 

The Working Time Regulations define ‘working time’ as a period during which:

• The employer can tell an employee what they can and cannot do

• The employee is carrying out their work-related duties

Most work activities fall under that criteria, including time spent travelling to meet clients, training new hires, or being on call. Examples of activities which aren't classed as working time include travel between home and the workplace, travel outside normal working hours, and independent training.

Working time regulations state that your employees are entitled to a 20 minute rest break if their shift lasts longer than six hours. Workers must also have 11 hours of rest between work days, so you can't schedule the same person to close the shop and open it the next day unless there's sufficient rest between the activities. As well as daily rest, employees are entitled to 24 hours of rest within any 7 day period (or 48 hours in a 14 day period).

The working time directive states that full-time and part-time employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks of annual leave (or paid holiday) per year. It’s up to the company whether their workforce’s statutory leave includes bank holidays or whether they grant their employees annual leave above the minimum.

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Certain employees working shifts and at night receive special consideration in the Working Time Regulations:

Working nights can potentially negatively impact employee wellbeing, so employers are required to complete a health assessment before someone becomes a night worker. Employees who work at night must not work more than 48 hours per week or more than 8 hours in a 24 hour period (on average, based on a 17 week period).

The law defines 'night time' as the period between 11pm and 6am, however employers can agree a different night schedule as long as it's at least 7 hours long and includes the period between 12am and 5am.

Working time regulations state that a shift-based work schedule should include 11 consecutive hours of rest breaks between shifts. A day off should be given at least once every two weeks while also allowing for a 24 hour rest break after a 24 hour shift.

There isn’t a legal definition of shift work, but it often refers to work outside of typical daytime hours where there’s a handover of duties from one individual to another within a 24 hour period.

All workers are entitled to adequate rest and the protection from working too many hours, and UK organisations should comply with the directive. Organisations that don't follow the law open themselves up to the possibility of:

• Strained employee relationships

• An employment tribunal

• Reports to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

• Damage to their reputation as an employer

Employees can bring a claim to tribunal if they believe their employer isn't following the Working Time Regulations, or if they feel they've been treated differently as a result of raising a concern about working time. To avoid potential situations, employers should strive to keep accurate records of working hours, written opt-out confirmations, and annual leave taken.

Manual timesheets are unreliable for tracking working hours and annual leave, so many organisations use dedicated software for this purpose. Time tracking tools give you a clear picture of who is working, how many hours they've worked, how much annual leave they've taken, and whether there are any concerning trends or issues on the horizon.

Popular types of time tracking system include:

• Automatic tracking: records time in the background with less user effort

• Biometric clock-in (fingerprint or facial recognition): hard to falsify, with data protection implications to manage

• GPS or geofenced clock-in: suited to mobile and field worker

• QR code and kiosk systems: practical for shift-based sites

Useful features include alerts as someone approaches the 48 hour average, audit-ready reports, and a record of opt-out agreements held alongside the employees they relate to. The goal is evidence you can produce on request, not a spreadsheet reconstructed after the fact.

Complying with the UK's working time regulations is essential, as is demonstrating that you've followed all the steps along the way. The time tracking feature in Personio allows you to:

• Introduce flexible and compliant time tracking to the whole organisation

• Record time from desktop, mobile, clock-in terminals, or the Personio Entrance app

• Keep accurate records ready for payroll preparation and audits

• Set workflows to trigger approvals for time entries that don't align with company policy

• Navigate complicated regulatory requirements (including the UK's Working Time Regulations)

• Save time with automated compliance checks

• Connect time data with external tools through the Marketplace

Time tracking in Personio helps you improve efficiency and support compliance across the whole organisation in a way that's harder to achieve with standalone time management tools.

Most workers can't work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally over a 17-week period. Those aged 18 or over can opt out voluntarily and in writing, and can cancel with at least seven days' notice (up to three months if the agreement says so).

Workers in the UK are entitled to a 20 minute uninterrupted break for shifts over six hours, 11 consecutive hours' rest between working days, and weekly rest of 24 hours per seven days (or 48 hours per fortnight).

Employers should keep records that evidence compliance with the Working Time Regulations. There's no requirement to keep a record of all daily working hours, but there should be proof that workers are not working beyond the 48 hour weekly maximum (unless opted out), and that the rules are being followed regarding night workers and young workers. Accurate records should be kept for a period of two years.