Clocks go back 2026: your HR guide to night shift pay and payroll

What date and time do the clocks go back in 2026?

The clocks go back in the UK on Sunday 25 October 2026. At 2am BST, they move back one hour to 1am GMT [1]. British Summer Time (BST, GMT+1) ends, and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) resumes until the clocks go forward again in March 2027.

As the hour between 1am and 2am occurs twice, 25 October lasts 25 hours. For night shift workers whose shifts span the repeated hour, this can mean an additional hour on duty, depending on their scheduled start and finish times.
The UK follows a regular pattern: the clocks go forward by one hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March and back by one hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October [1]. If you're planning staff schedules around these dates, it's worth preparing for both changes in advance. 

Why do the clocks go back at 2am?

The idea of daylight saving time was championed by William Willett, a Kent-based builder who proposed changing the clocks in 1907 to make better use of daylight in the evenings. Willett died in 1915, before seeing his idea adopted. Germany and Austria-Hungary were the first to introduce daylight saving time in 1916, with the UK following in May that year under the Summer Time Act 1916 [4].

The 2am change was chosen as a relatively quiet time, when most people are asleep, to minimise disruption to public transport and shift patterns [2]. A common myth is that daylight saving time was introduced to benefit farmers, but the agricultural sector actually opposed it.

Around 70 countries worldwide observe daylight saving time (DST) today, while most equatorial countries do not. The EU voted in 2019 to end seasonal clock changes, but no agreement was reached, so the practice continues across member states.

How does the time change affect night shift pay and working time?

On Sunday 25 October 2026, the hour between 1am and 2am occurs twice. Night shift workers whose shifts span the repeated hour may work an additional hour. How this affects pay depends on their contract and payroll arrangements.

For hourly-paid workers, the additional hour should be recorded on timesheets and paid in line with the applicable contractual arrangements. For salaried staff working fixed shifts, the employment contract determines whether the extra hour is paid separately or covered by their existing salary.

Employers also need to check National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage compliance. If the additional hour goes unpaid, a worker’s average hourly pay could fall below the applicable minimum wage. This should be assessed using recorded working hours and pay over the relevant pay reference period.

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, night workers who regularly work at least three hours during the night period are subject to specific working-time limits. The night period is usually 11pm to 6am. In most cases, night workers must not work more than an average of eight hours in each 24-hour period, calculated over a 17-week reference period [2]. Employers should check whether any exceptions or specific arrangements apply to their staff.

The spring clock change on Sunday 28 March 2027 has the opposite effect: the clocks move forward from 1am to 2am, making the day 23 hours long. Some night shifts will therefore be an hour shorter in elapsed time. How this affects pay depends on the employee’s contract and payroll arrangements. Some contracts include provisions covering both clock changes, so employers should check the relevant terms.

How the clock change affects different sectors

The extra hour when the clocks go back can have different implications depending on the work involved. For some organisations, the main concern is maintaining safe staffing levels; for others, it is complying with sector-specific working-time rules or managing continuous operations.

Healthcare and social care: 12-hour nights and safe staffing

In hospitals and care homes, night shifts can already last 12 hours, making the clock change particularly important for staff working overnight. When the clocks go back, staff may work an additional hour in elapsed time, so employers need to consider how this affects working hours, fatigue and continuity of care.

Pay arrangements also need attention. NHS staff covered by Agenda for Change have specific terms and conditions governing unsocial-hours payments and overtime, so employers should check how these apply to the additional hour worked. Other care providers may have different contractual arrangements and should check the relevant terms.

Manufacturing: continuous production and rest breaks

In manufacturing, production lines may run around the clock, with some operating continuously to avoid costly interruptions. When the clocks go back, employees working through the night may spend an additional hour on shift, so employers need to account for this when recording working hours.

For employees working long shifts or carrying out repetitive tasks on a production line, employers should also consider whether their rest breaks are sufficient to manage fatigue and protect health and safety. Our guide to rest breaks at work and employers' legal obligations explains the rules employers need to consider when organising working hours and breaks.

Transport and logistics: accurate records and drivers' hours

For transport and logistics operators, the clock change can affect overnight journeys, delivery schedules and the recording of working hours. Employers need to ensure that driving time, other work, breaks and rest periods are recorded accurately, particularly for drivers working through the repeated hour.

Drivers subject to statutory drivers' hours rules must also stay within the applicable driving limits and take the required breaks and rest periods. The extra hour on the clock does not give them extra driving time, so employers should check that schedules remain compliant when planning journeys around the clock change.

Hospitality: licensed trading hours and overnight staff

For pubs, bars and nightclubs open overnight, the clocks going back can create a specific licensing issue. When 2am becomes 1am, the same hour occurs twice, but this does not automatically extend the hours during which alcohol may be sold or supplied. Operators should check their premises licence and ensure that staff understand when permitted trading hours end.

Licensing rules differ across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so operators should check the requirements that apply to their premises.

Hotels and restaurants with overnight staff may also need to account for the repeated hour when organising shifts and recording working hours.

Late arrivals and clock-in confusion during the duplicated hour

The duplicated hour creates a specific problem for clock-in systems and attendance records. When an employee clocks in at 1:30am on 25 October, that timestamp occurs twice during the night. Without a way to distinguish between the two occurrences, you cannot tell whether they arrived at 1:30am BST (the first occurrence, before the clocks go back) or 1:30am GMT (the second, after the transition).

For a worker scheduled to start at 1:30am BST, the rota should make it clear that this refers to the first occurrence of 1:30am, before the clocks go back. If they arrive at 1:45am BST, they are 15 minutes late. If they arrive at 1:45am GMT, during the second occurrence of that time, they are 1 hour and 15 minutes late against their scheduled start time. Clarifying how the repeated hour will be recorded on the rota before the shift begins can help avoid confusion later.

For hourly-paid workers, accurate records are particularly important to ensure that pay reflects the hours worked. Employers should check how their time and attendance system handles the repeated hour and make sure there is a clear process for recording any ambiguous clock-in times. Where necessary, workarounds such as shift manager notes or manual adjustments can help ensure that working hours are recorded correctly for payroll.

To prevent these issues, brief all night shift staff and their managers at least one week before 25 October. Include the exact transition time, how the rota handles the repeated hour, and what to do if a clock-in timestamp looks ambiguous. A short reminder on the day, paired with a visible note at each clock-in terminal, can help reduce confusion and disputed hours when payroll runs the following week.

For the clock changes in the UK, configure your rotas and timesheet systems to account for both the extra hour in October and the lost hour in March. 

Prepare these points before 25 October 2026:

• Check night shifts scheduled across the clock change
• Ensure working hours include the additional hour where applicable
• Check minimum wage compliance over the relevant pay reference period
• Update rotas for the BST-to-GMT transition
• Test whether your time and attendance software adjusts automatically for the clock change
• Brief shift managers on the extra hour and its implications for pay

How Kelio's time and attendance software manages the clocks going back

Kelio's time and attendance software automatically adjusts when the clocks go back from BST to GMT on 25 October 2026. Timesheets, rotas and payroll calculations update without manual intervention, so the extra hour worked by night shift staff is captured and paid correctly.

The platform centralises time tracking, absence management and payroll integration on a single GDPR-compliant system. Minimum wage compliance checks run automatically against recorded hours, and rotas configured for the 25-hour night stay accurate. With over 35 years of expertise and 20,000 clients across Europe, Kelio's workforce management software covers the full cycle, from shift planning to payroll export. Our local UK support team can help you configure the system ahead of the clock change, reducing manual adjustments and keeping timesheets accurate across different shift patterns.

[1] GOV.UK, https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change, 24 November 2025

[2] Royal Observatory Greenwich, https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/time/when-do-clocks-go-back

[3] BBC Weather, https://www.bbc.com/weather/articles/cm2zdzwy12do, 25 October 2025

[4] The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/26/the-end-of-summer-why-do-the-clocks-go-back-in-october, 26 October 2024