Is there a free weekly timesheet template for agency workers?
Yes. Download our free weekly agency timesheet as an Excel file that adds up the hours, or as a PDF to print. It records the worker, agency, client, site and week, then each day's start, finish and unpaid break, the hours worked, a weekly total, and worker and client signatures. Night shifts past midnight are counted correctly.
Last checked 27 October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Download the weekly timesheet
One sheet per worker, per client, per week. Both files are free, with no sign-up.
The Excel file works in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice. It has a blank sheet and a filled-in example with two night shifts.
What is on it
- Worker, agency, client, site, job and week commencing
- Start, finish and unpaid break for each day, Monday to Sunday
- Hours for each day and a weekly total, worked out for you in the spreadsheet
- Shifts that run past midnight counted correctly
- Worker declaration, client name, job title, signatures and dates
Spreadsheet formula for each day: finish minus start, wrapped past midnight, minus the unpaid break, in decimal hours.
What an agency timesheet should record
A timesheet is the record the agency pays the worker from and bills the client from, so it has to tie one worker to one client for one week, and the client has to agree the hours. The template has a line for each of these.
| On the sheet | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Worker name and payroll reference | Matches the sheet to the right person in payroll, even when two workers share a name. |
| Agency, client and site | Says who the hours are billed to. One sheet per client keeps charge rates apart. |
| Job or role | Different roles can carry different pay and charge rates, and the Agency Workers Regulations count 12 weeks per role and hirer. |
| Week commencing | Fixes the pay week. The spreadsheet fills in the seven dates from it. |
| Start, finish and unpaid break, each day | The raw facts. Hours worked are worked out from them, not written in by hand. |
| Hours worked and the weekly total | What payroll pays and the client is invoiced for. |
| Worker declaration and signature | The worker confirms the hours are true. |
| Client name, job title, signature and date | The client confirms the hours before you invoice, which settles most disputes early. |
Add a reference for your booking if you use one, and use the notes column for anything paid differently, such as overtime or a sleep-in.
How to work out hours, breaks and night shifts
Hours worked are the finish time minus the start time, minus any unpaid break. Paid breaks are not taken off. Workers who work more than 6 hours a day have the right to one uninterrupted 20 minute rest break, and GOV.UK says it does not have to be paid: that depends on the contract.
For a shift that runs past midnight, count to midnight and then on from midnight, and put the whole shift on the day it started. In the spreadsheet the formula does this with MOD: when the finish is earlier than the start, it adds a day.
| Shift | Sum | Hours worked |
|---|---|---|
| 06:00 to 14:00, 30 minutes unpaid | 8 hours less 0.5 | 7.50 |
| 06:00 to 14:30, 30 minutes unpaid | 8.5 hours less 0.5 | 8.00 |
| 22:00 to 06:00, 30 minutes unpaid | 2 hours to midnight plus 6 hours, less 0.5 | 7.50 |
| 22:00 to 06:00, 45 minutes unpaid | 8 hours less 0.75 | 7.25 |
| Week total | 7.5 + 8 + 7.5 + 7.25 | 30.25 |
Minutes as decimals: 15 minutes is 0.25 of an hour, 30 minutes is 0.5 and 45 minutes is 0.75. Payroll usually needs decimal hours, so 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75, not 7.45.
Look at the gap between shifts while you are there. Workers have the right to 11 hours of rest between working days, so a night that finishes at 06:00 followed by a day shift at 14:00 is worth a second look.
Why accurate hours matter for holiday pay
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, irregular-hours and part-year workers build up holiday at 12.07% of the hours they actually work in each pay period. Most temps on a call-off basis are irregular-hours workers. So the hours on the timesheet are the hours holiday is worked out from: 30.25 hours in the example above builds up 3.65 hours of paid holiday.
If you pay rolled-up holiday pay instead, it is 12.07% of the worker's pay for the period, shown as a separate line on the payslip, and the pay itself comes from the timesheet hours. Either way, a sheet that is short by an hour also shortchanges the holiday.
The same hours are what you check against the National Minimum Wage, and what the 12 weeks under the Agency Workers Regulations are built from. Try the numbers in the holiday pay calculator, or read 12.07% holiday pay explained.
How long to keep timesheets and hours records
There is no single rule for "timesheets". Different laws ask for different records, so keep the timesheet as long as the longest rule it supports.
| Record | Keep it for | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| Records showing working time limits were kept (the 48-hour week, night work, young workers) | 2 years from the date they were made | Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 9 |
| Records showing workers got their annual leave and holiday pay | 6 years from the date they were made | Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 16B, in force from 6 April 2026 |
| Payroll records: pay, deductions, leave and sickness absences | 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to | HMRC, PAYE for employers |
Timesheets feed all three, so keeping them for 6 years covers every rule above. Both sets of Working Time Regulations records can be kept in any form the employer reasonably thinks fit, so a scanned or photographed signed sheet counts.
Using the spreadsheet
- Type the week commencing date in the box at the top. The day names and dates fill in by themselves.
- Enter times as 24-hour clock, such as 06:00 or 22:30, and the unpaid break in whole minutes. The cells check what you type.
- Leave a day blank if the worker did not work it. The total adds up only the days with times.
- Save a copy per worker per week, or print it for the client to sign. The PDF is the same layout without the formulas, for paper.
The sheet is not locked, so you can add your logo, a booking reference or a column for overtime.
Questions people ask
How do I work out hours for a night shift on a timesheet?
Count from the start to midnight, then from midnight to the finish, and take off any unpaid break. A 22:00 to 06:00 shift is 8 hours, so with a 30 minute unpaid break it is 7.5 hours. Put the whole shift on the day it started, so each shift is counted once.
Should breaks be deducted from a timesheet?
Only unpaid breaks. Workers who work more than 6 hours a day have the right to one uninterrupted 20 minute rest break, and GOV.UK says whether it is paid depends on the contract. If the break is paid, leave it in the hours. If it is unpaid, take it off, as this template does.
How long should an agency keep timesheets?
Working time records must be kept for 2 years and, from 6 April 2026, annual leave and holiday pay records for 6 years. HMRC payroll records must be kept for 3 years from the end of the tax year. Timesheets support all three, so many agencies keep them for 6 years.
Does the client have to sign an agency timesheet?
It is worth asking for. A client signature agrees the hours before the agency pays the worker and invoices the client, so disputes come up while the week is fresh. Check your terms of business with the client for how hours are confirmed and how long the client has to query them.
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours?
Divide the minutes by 60. 15 minutes is 0.25 of an hour, 30 minutes is 0.5 and 45 minutes is 0.75, so 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 hours, not 7.45. The spreadsheet template does this for you and shows each day in decimal hours, ready for payroll.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk: Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 9 (records kept for two years)
- legislation.gov.uk: Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 16B (annual leave records kept for six years, from 6 April 2026)
- GOV.UK: PAYE and payroll for employers, keeping records (3 years from the end of the tax year)
- GOV.UK: Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024 (12.07%)
- GOV.UK: Rest breaks at work (20 minutes over 6 hours; 11 hours between working days)
- GOV.UK: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates
Try it with your own week.
Load the sample agency in one click or import your spreadsheet. 30 days free, no card needed.