There are no direct laws governing timekeeping in the UK, but many regulations impact on how it is administered. Perhaps the most important of these is the Working Time Regulations 1998. This states that no employee can work over 48 hours a week on average. However, an employee can choose to work more if they wish to do so.
The Working Time Regulations also states that an employee must have a minimum of 11 hours’ rest in any 24-hour period. This can limit the scheduling of shifts for workers, especially if they work late in the evening or early in the morning.
In terms of employee lateness, again there are no direct rules that govern how an employee deals with tardiness. This gives businesses leeway to derive their own disciplinary procedures. They must, however, ensure that they treat all employees fairly, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.