UK employers have a statutory record-keeping duty under Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998: records adequate to show that the 48-hour average weekly limit and the night work limits are being complied with, kept for two years. Separately, the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 require records of hours worked and pay, kept for six years. The European Court of Justice ruling of 14 May 2019 (C-55/18, CCOO v Deutsche Bank) went further, requiring Member States to oblige employers to operate an objective, reliable and accessible system measuring daily working time — a requirement the UK has not enacted, but which sets the standard UK employers are strongly advised to work to, because it is the only practical way to evidence compliance.
What this means in practice, which retention periods apply and where exemptions kick in is covered by the guides in this topic hub — from the record-keeping duties themselves, through trust-based working time, to the requirements for audit-proof documentation, including templates and calculators.