Working Time Regulations and rota compliance in UK hospitality: what employers need to know

At Access Hospitality, we’ve seen how difficult it can be to juggle legal requirements and shift patterns, especially in fast-moving industries like hospitality. That’s why we have built Hospitality People Suite to help you manage both compliance demands and your team’s needs without the stress. 

In this guide, we’ll take you through the essentials of the ‘Working Time Directive’, what the law requires and how smart rota planning can help you stay compliant with the latest regulations. 

What is the Working Time Directive (WTD)? 

The legislation is there to safeguard your employees’ health and wellbeing by regulating working hours and promoting a work-life balance, ensuring that employees are not overworked and that they receive regular breaks for rest and recovery. 

Under the WTD, several core requirements apply to most workers: 

Employees do have the option to opt out of the 48-hour weekly cap if they wish, allowing for some flexibility. However, this has to be mutually agreed, and the employee must sign an opt-out form in writing. However, even if an employee opts out, their employer is still required to provide them with adequate rest breaks and rest periods, as outlined above. 

What do you need to know about the Working Time Directive?  

Let’s break down the essentials: 

How many 12-hour shifts can you work in a row in the UK? 

UK law doesn’t explicitly state how many 12-hour shifts an employee can legally work in a row. However, the Working Time Directive (WTD) provides clear, easy-to-follow guidelines, so you can make sure employees receive the rest they need. 

While there’s no direct limit to consecutive shifts, these rules mean that in practice, employees must have sufficient breaks between shifts to comply with the law. Working 12‑hour shifts back‑to‑back is possible under the WTD, provided the 11‑hour rest rule is respected and workers still receive at least 24 hours’ uninterrupted weekly rest (or 48 hours’ rest in each 14‑day period) 

For under-18s, the rules are slightly different. They must have at least 12 hours of rest between their shifts plus two consecutive days off each week. 

Ultimately, The WTD has employee wellbeing at the centre, preventing burnout and health risks from excessive working hours. These regulations must be taken into account, in order to create effective rotas that balance operational needs with legal compliance. 

What are your legal obligations? 

Here’s some clear rules to follow when you’re creating efficient rotas:  

How can you record employee working hours for rota compliance? 

Accurate records of working hours are essential for complying with the Working Time Regulations and for preparing for newer requirements under the Employment Rights Bill. Employers should be able to evidence at least two years of working-time records, including hours worked, rest breaks and rest days. 

1. Rotas that reflect reality 

A planned rota is a good starting point since it shows who’s scheduled to work and when. But other factors get in the way like overtime, lateness or absences which can easily cause complications. It is best to keep your rotas updated to reflect the actual hours worked. 

2. Moving beyond paper timesheets 

Some businesses still use paper timesheets where employees log their start and end times by hand. While it’s simple, this method has its downsides as data can be lost, avoidable errors can creep in, and manual entry takes more time, especially when it’s used for payroll. 

3. Digital time and attendance linked to the rota 

With modern time‑tracking, employees can clock in and out on a tablet or mobile app, and the system logs hours automatically against the rota. They record actual start and finish times, calculate breaks and overtime, and feed that data through to payroll. 

4. Advance notice and clear audit trails 

Publishing rotas well in advance; two to three weeks is widely seen as best practice, supports both working-time compliance and emerging expectations around reasonable notice of shifts. 

Rota history and progress dashboards track all changes for up to four weeks and show multi‑site managers the status across every venue, making it easier to evidence both working‑time compliance and “reasonable notice” under the Employment Rights Act. 

All of the capabilities described above are exactly the kinds of workflows Rotaready Evo is designed to handle for hospitality teams. 

How Rotaready Evo supports compliant, predictable rotas 

Rotaready Evo brings scheduling and time-and-attendance into one place, so the rotas  reflect actual hours worked, not just what was planned. This joined-up approach helps operators with evidence of compliance with the Working Time Regulations and prepare for newer expectations under the Employment Rights Bill. 

Smart rotas and advance notice 

Time and attendance that reflects reality 

Guaranteed hours and contractual commitments 

Document management and policy records 

Why a joined-up suite goes further 

Rotaready Evo sits within Hospitality People Suite, where recruitment, HR, learning, payroll and benefits all draw from the same people data. This means scheduling decisions, contract changes, training records and pay outcomes stay aligned, giving you a clearer, more consistent view of compliance across every site, not just on individual rotas.