UK timesheet template
Start, end, break, hours - plus the minimum wage column that most timesheet templates leave out and HMRC cares most about.
A UK timesheet needs start time, end time, unpaid break and hours worked - and, if you employ anyone near the wage floor, a minimum wage check. That last column is the one most templates omit and HMRC cares most about: pay divided by hours actually worked must not fall below £12.71 an hour for staff aged 21 and over. The download below has the check built in.
Download the weekly timesheet CSV · with the minimum wage check built in
What should a timesheet record?
| Date | Day | Start | End | Unpaid break | Hours worked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Aug | Mon | 08:30 | 17:00 | 30 min | 8.0 |
| 5 Aug | Tue | 08:30 | 18:30 | 30 min | 9.5 |
Record the break separately rather than folding it into the hours - it's what lets you prove the 20-minute entitlement was given on long days, and it stops paid and unpaid time getting muddled at year end.
Why does a timesheet need a minimum wage check?
Because National Minimum Wage compliance is assessed on hours actually worked, not hours contracted. A salaried employee doing regular unpaid overtime can drift below the floor without anyone intending it - and HMRC can require arrears at current rates, charge penalties of up to 200% of the underpayment, and name the employer publicly.
- Gross pay for the period ÷ hours actually worked = effective hourly rate
- Compare against the April 2026 rates: £12.71 (21+), £10.85 (18-20), £8.00 (under 18 and apprentice)
- Remember deductions for uniforms, tools or equipment reduce NMW pay - even where the worker agreed
The salaried minimum wage checker runs this against any salary, and every current rate is on the statutory rates table.
How long must timesheets be kept?
Keep pay and hours records for at least six years. HMRC can inspect NMW records, and in a dispute the employer who can produce contemporaneous timesheets is in a very different position from the one reconstructing hours from memory. Working time records also matter for the 48-hour average and the rest rules - see rest between shifts.
Who signs it?
Both. Employee confirms the hours, manager approves before payroll. It's a small ritual that prevents the two most common timesheet arguments - “I worked later than that” and “nobody authorised those hours” - and it makes the record evidence rather than assertion.
What about the extra hours?
A timesheet that quietly logs ten hours of overtime a month without anyone deciding what happens to them is storing up a problem. Decide the route - paid at the contractual rate, or banked as time off in lieu - and record it: TOIL vs overtime pay, the overtime pay calculator, and the TOIL tracker if you're banking hours.
More to download: All 30 templates · 66 guides explaining the rules · 24 calculators
Hours that record themselves
CoDash logs time against each person's working pattern, tracks overtime into pay or TOIL, and keeps the record payroll needs.