What the Employment Rights Act Means for Your Employee Records
When it comes to HR, keeping accurate employee records has always been important. But changes under the Employment Rights Act mean employers need to pay even closer attention to the information they hold, how it is recorded and how easily it can be accessed.
Are your employee records up to date? Tick HR Solutions explains what employers need to know about the Employment Rights Act and keeping accurate HR records.
For businesses employing shift workers, hourly paid staff or people on irregular working patterns, there are two key areas to prepare for: holiday and holiday pay records, and the forthcoming requirements around guaranteed hours.
So, is your employee records drawer organised and up to date?
Holiday records: What do employers need to keep?
From 6 April 2026, employers have been required to keep records of the annual leave workers take and the holiday pay they receive. This includes holiday carried over into a new leave year and payments made in place of untaken holiday.
These records must be retained for six years and can be kept in any reasonable format. The requirement also covers workers with irregular hours and part-year workers, as well as those on more traditional fixed-hour contracts.
The important point is that getting holiday calculations right is only part of the picture. Employers must also be able to demonstrate that the correct records have been maintained.
For example, if holiday requests are scattered across emails, spreadsheets are regularly overwritten or records are incomplete, it could be difficult to provide the necessary evidence if it is requested.
Our advice: Make sure holiday taken, holiday pay and any relevant carry-over are recorded consistently and retained securely. Keeping information up to date throughout the year is much easier than trying to piece it together later.
Guaranteed hours: What should employers prepare for?
Further changes expected in 2027 will affect qualifying zero-hours and low-hours workers.
Under the forthcoming requirements, employers will need to assess the hours qualifying workers actually work over a reference period and offer contracts that reflect those working patterns. Workers will be able to decline an offer.
There will also be new rights relating to reasonable notice of shifts and compensation where shifts are cancelled, moved or cut at short notice.
Some of the practical details, including reference periods, notice requirements and compensation arrangements, will depend on the relevant regulations and guidance. Employers should keep up to date as these are confirmed.
In the meantime, one thing is clear: accurate working-time records will be essential.
Without a reliable history of hours worked, it may be difficult to establish which workers qualify for an offer. Similarly, if a shift is changed or cancelled, employers may need to demonstrate when the original shift was communicated and what subsequently changed.
Getting your employee records in order
Preparing for these changes doesn’t have to mean creating more paperwork. It starts with having a reliable process for recording and managing employee information.
Here are six areas worth reviewing:
- Record working hours accurately
Make sure you have a consistent way to capture the hours employees work, whether they clock in using a mobile device, an employee code, a QR code or another suitable method.
- Check and approve records
Give managers a clear process for reviewing and approving timesheets so that errors and discrepancies can be identified promptly.
- Keep employee information organised
Where practical, bring working hours, holiday, sickness absence, rotas and time-off requests together so that relevant information is easier to find and cross-check.
- Account for different working patterns
If you employ part-year workers, irregular-hours staff or employees who work alternating shifts, make sure your systems and processes can accommodate those arrangements accurately.
- Reduce manual payroll administration
Where possible, transfer approved working hours, overtime and relevant shift information directly into payroll processes. This can reduce duplicate data entry and help prevent avoidable errors.
- Make records easy to retrieve
You should be able to find the information relating to a particular employee and period without having to rebuild a record from emails, old spreadsheets and separate systems.
Could your HR systems make things easier?
For some businesses, existing processes may be sufficient, provided they meet the relevant requirements. For others, it may be worth considering whether a dedicated time and attendance or HR system could help.
Platforms such as Access PeopleHR Evo offer tools that can bring together employee information, working hours, timesheets, absence, rotas and reporting, helping businesses manage records in a more organised way.
The right solution will depend on your workforce, existing systems and business needs. Technology can help streamline record-keeping, but employers still need appropriate processes, oversight and checks to ensure their records are accurate and retained correctly.
How Tick HR Solutions can help
The Employment Rights Act is a useful reminder that good HR management involves more than having policies in place. Employers also need reliable records and clear processes to support the way they manage their people.
At Tick HR Solutions, we help businesses understand their HR responsibilities and take practical steps to manage their workforce with confidence.
Reviewing your employee records now can help you identify gaps, improve your processes and prepare for upcoming changes without leaving everything until the last minute.
Are your employee records ready?
Get in touch with Tick HR Solutions 01522 448 181 to discuss your HR processes and how you can prepare your business for the changes ahead.