Timesheets
As part of the Terms and Conditions of our research funders, some of them require evidence of an individual’s time worked on an award.
These sponsors include the Research Councils (RC), European Commission (EC) and National Institute of Health (NIH).
Research Councils
A recent TRAC (Transparent Approach to Costing) update states that timesheets need to be kept for all Directly Incurred (DI) staff
except those who are working 100% of their contracted time on one project and Post Graduate Research (PGR) students funded under a project.
Directly Allocated staff do not need to keep timesheets for RC awards.
Q. How will the timesheets be used in the claiming of staff costs?
A. In order to claim for the reimbursement of these staff costs, please use the following calculations:
1) Annual salary (including on-costs) / by the TRAC standard of 1650 hours p.a. = hourly rate
e.g.
£25,080 / 1650 = £15.20 per hour
2) Hourly rate X (multiplied) by the number of hours (certified on the timesheets for that period) = the cost to be charged to the grant
e.g.
£15.20 x 47 hours worked in a month = £714.40
Therefore £714.40 should be charged to the award.
Click here for timesheet template.
European Commission
EC guidance on timesheets can be found here:
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Salary costs are allowable as long as:
- It is reasonable
- It conforms to the established policy of the organisation
- It is consistently applied - regardless of the source of funds
- It reflects no more than the percentage of time actually devoted to the NIH-funded project
Salaries and wages must be supported by timesheets as this determines the time devoted to individual projects.
Accurate allocation of payments is based on the benefits to each of the multiple grant or administrative activities.
FAQs
Q. When do we have to start filling in timesheets?
A. For Research Council grants - no later than 1 January 2011. If your Research Council grant begins before this date,
you don’t need to complete timesheets retrospectively, just begin your timesheets from 1 January 2011.
For EC and NIH grants – you should already have been completing timesheets. You are welcome to use the timesheet template if you would like.
Q. What should the timesheet look like?
A. An example of a timesheet template can be found here:
An example of a completed timesheet can be found here:
A user guide for completing the timesheet can be found here:
Q. How often should timesheets be completed?
A. Timesheets need to be produced promptly every month for each month that the member of staff works on the project.
Q. Who should complete the timesheet?
A. The individual undertaking the work should complete and sign the timesheet and their line manager should counter sign it.
Q. What happens if I only spend half of my time on a research grant?
A. When completing the timesheet, you need to show all of your productive hours so that includes the number of hours spent on the grant
AND number of hours spent elsewhere during your working week.
Q. What happens if I spend time on several projects from different sponsors?
A. On your timesheet you will need to complete a different line of activity for each project that you work on.
Q. What happens if I take annual leave or am sick?
A. For EC and NIH projects you need to include your annual leave time and sick days on your timesheets.
Q. How long should I keep the timesheets and who should keep them?
A. Timesheets should be retained for a minimum of 6 years or longer if the terms and conditions of the sponsor request this.
Timesheets should be kept by Departments.
