Imperial College uses a comprehensive timesheet template. This is a paper version timesheet completed using Microsoft Excel. It should be used by all categories of staff working on projects where the funder requires time records. This template accounts for the individual's entire productive working hours, including absences. Only one comprehensive timesheet per individual per month will be accepted. A separate absence record should also be maintained.
Timesheets must be:
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completed monthly and signed by the individual undertaking the work to reflect actual hours worked;
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checked and approved (signed) by their supervisor on a monthly basis;
The comprehensive timesheet template superseded previous timesheet templates on 1st June 2016.
Guidance on individual funder requirements – European Commission, Innovate UK, UK Research Councils and US Federal Agencies – are explained in more detail below.
Any enquiries about timesheets should be directed to your departmental administrator in the first instance. Any further questions about the template or timesheet policy in general should be emailed to ro.audit@imperial.ac.uk
The Comprehensive Timesheets Templates for PC and MAC (excel) do not currently meet web accessibility requirements. Please email ro.audit@imperial.ac.uk for accessible versions.
Absence Records
All authorised absence hours must be recorded on the comprehensive timesheet. This includes annual leave, college closure and bank holidays, sick leave, maternity and paternity leave.
It is essential that staff maintain a separate annual leave record using a paper based document or the electronic absence management system TeamSeer. Auditors retain the right to view annual leave records to ensure they are consistent with the absences declared on timesheets. For European Commission Horizon 2020 Certificate on Financial Statements (CFS), absence records must be submitted to the auditors alongside timesheets.
Absence reports can be run from TeamSeer by staff with the role of TeamSeer System Administrator (a complete list can be found here). This document provides guidance on downloading absence reports from the system:
TeamSeer Absence Reports Guidance
These reports do not include College Closure and Bank Holiday data. Those dates can be found here.
Responsibilities
The Principal Investigator of the research award is ultimately responsible for ensuring that timesheets are completed, approved and submitted. Faculty Research Services will email the PI when the grant is set up, setting out the funder requirements for timesheets.
Each employee accesses their timesheet and records their actual hours worked (monthly as per funder requirements), absence taken, work package or activities worked, a description of work plus any additional information, before signing the timesheet. The PI/Supervisor should then be notified (by the employee or Departmental Administration) that the timesheet is ready for their approval and signature.
Departmental Administration should collate and quality-check the documents. Departmental Administration is responsible for: a) Management and co-ordination of the timesheets process (including collation) b) Monitoring completion and PI/Supervisor approval c) Quality checking d) Submission to Faculty Research Services.
Funder Requirements
- European Commission (EC)
- Innovate UK (part of UKRI)
- Research Councils (part of UKRI)
- US Federal Awards (e.g. National Institutes of Health (NIH))
All categories of staff (including PIs, Co-Is, PhD Students and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellows) charged to EC funded projects (including the UKRI Guarantee Schemes) are required to complete timesheets.
Where casual workers are being engaged to work on an EC funded project, in the same way as other staff that are charged to the project, they will also be required to complete timesheets (in addition to completing and submitting Pay8B forms).
ERC PIs must complete a timesheet even if they are not charging time to the ERC project to demonstrate that they have met their contractual obligations.
The EC accepts that time entered on the timesheet can vary from month to month but it is important to ensure that costs within the financial system are reconciled to reflect actual time worked on the project.
Information about absences included in timesheets must match records of annual and sick leave taken. Time taken for work-related travel must be supported by appropriate evidence, e.g. conference documentation, project meeting notes etc, as this will be verified against the timesheet to ensure it relates to the project.
Directly Incurred full or part-time staff working less than 100% of their time on one or more Innovate UK project must complete a timesheet.
Innovate UK would prefer those staff Directly Allocated to the project and those Directly Incurred working 100% of time to also complete timesheets. However, it is acceptable to complete an annual declaration, signed by the individual or the project manager, confirming how much time was spent on the project.
Where staff costs are incurred by a subcontractor or collaborator, an invoice will be accepted as evidence of costs incurred and no timesheets need to be retained by the third party organisation.
Directly incurred staff (e.g. research assistants; research fellows; technicians; administrative staff) working less than 100% of their time on one Research Council project must complete a comprehensive timesheet.
Timesheets are NOT required for:
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staff on part-time contracts whose salary costs are charged fully to a single UKRI project;
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postgraduate Research Students who are charged either full or part-time to UKRI projects;
From 1st August 2019, all Directly Incurred staff working less than 100% of their time on one Federal Agency award must complete a comprehensive timesheet.
We would recommend that all staff charged to a Federal Agency award complete a comprehensive timesheet for audit purposes.