TOIL tracker template
A running balance of time owed - with the expiry column that stops a banked hour becoming an untracked liability.
A TOIL tracker needs five things: hours earned, who approved them, hours taken, the running balance, and an expiry date. The expiry column is the one that matters - TOIL with no expiry quietly becomes an untracked liability, and an accrued balance your policy promised is contractual, so refusing to honour it risks an unlawful deduction claim.
Download the TOIL tracker CSV · balance sheet plus the four rules that govern it
What should a TOIL tracker record?
| Name | Date earned | Hrs earned | Approved by | Date taken | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Okafor | 12 Jul | 3.0 | M. Reid | - | 3.0 |
| A. Okafor | - | - | - | 2 Aug (half day) | −0.5 → 2.5 |
The approved by column does real work. TOIL earned without prior authorisation is where most disputes start - someone stays late for three weeks, then presents a bill nobody agreed to. Requiring approval before the hours are worked keeps it a mutual arrangement rather than a surprise.
Why does TOIL need an expiry date?
Because otherwise it accumulates silently. Two years in, someone has 40 hours banked, wants it as a week off in December, and the answer has to be no - which is exactly the conversation a policy exists to prevent. Three months is the common window: long enough to be usable, short enough that the balance stays real. Whatever you choose, apply it from the date each block was earned, not from year end.
What are the rules TOIL has to work within?
- No statutory framework. TOIL is entirely contractual - your policy defines accrual rate, expiry and what happens to leavers. See the TOIL policy template.
- Accrued TOIL is a promise. If the policy grants it, refusing to honour the balance risks a breach of contract or unlawful deduction claim.
- The 48-hour cap still applies. Extra hours count towards the average working week - banking them as TOIL doesn't exempt them.
- Minimum wage still applies. For salaried staff, unpaid extra hours must not drag average pay below the National Minimum Wage - check with the salaried NMW checker.
Hour for hour, or enhanced?
Most UK employers accrue hour for hour: three extra hours earns three hours off. Some enhance TOIL for unsocial hours - time and a half for weekend work, say - which mirrors what paid overtime would have cost and feels fairer to the people doing it. Either is fine; what matters is that the rate is written down before anyone works the hours. The trade-offs between banking time and paying for it are in TOIL vs overtime pay, and the overtime calculator shows both sides in money.
When a spreadsheet isn't enough
A TOIL ledger is a running balance that several people need to trust - the person earning it, the manager approving it, and whoever handles payroll when they leave. Spreadsheets do that badly: balances get stale, expiry dates get missed, and nobody notices a 40-hour bank until it's a problem. In CoDash, overtime is submitted and approved in the app, lands as TOIL days automatically, and shows on the same balance as annual leave - which is where people actually look.
More to download: All 30 templates · 66 guides explaining the rules · 24 calculators
TOIL that tracks itself
In CoDash, overtime is approved in the app and lands as TOIL days on the same balance as annual leave - no ledger to maintain.