Time Tracking in Ireland: What Employees Want in 2025 and How Smarter Tools Support Them

In today’s evolving workplace, time tracking is more than a process; it’s how businesses ensure fair pay, protect well-being, and give teams the clarity they need to thrive. But are the tools truly helping? 

The latest HR & Payroll Pulse reveals a clear message from Irish businesses and employees: time tracking is widely used, but many tools aren’t keeping pace with modern needs, and that’s costing organisations time, trust, and productivity. 

The Time Tracking Landscape in 2025 

Nearly 70% of Irish organisations already use a time-tracking tool or plan to implement one: 

• 51.7% currently use a tool and plan to continue.
• 16.0% don’t use one yet but plan to implement it soon. 

However, 9% of businesses plan to discontinue their current solution, not because time tracking isn’t valuable, but because their tools aren’t delivering. Meanwhile, 23.3% of Irish companies still don’t use any form of time tracking and have no plans to adopt one. 

That’s a missed opportunity to improve accuracy, compliance, and employee experience. 

We asked Irish employees about their experience with time tracking: 

• 36.5%: “Yes, and I want to track my working time.”
• 14.4%: “No, but I would like to.” 

That’s 50.9% of employees who either actively track or want to start. 

But not everyone feels the same: 

• 36.9%: “No, and I prefer not to.”
• 12.2%: “Yes, but I prefer not to.” 

This almost 50/50 split highlights a challenge and an opportunity to better support employees. Resistance often stems from concerns about micromanagement or outdated, rigid tools and when employees feel monitored instead of supported, engagement drops. 

For payroll and HR professionals, time tracking offers far more than just clocking hours. It’s a strategic tool that enhances accuracy of hours and pay, increasing transparency, and employee wellbeing. Time tracking also supports fair resource allocation and enables data-driven conversations around productivity, performance, and planning. Ultimately, it empowers HR to make smarter decisions and build a more balanced, accountable workplace culture. 

That 9% discontinuation rate tells us something important: businesses aren’t rejecting time tracking - they’re rejecting tools that frustrate users or fail to integrate with wider systems. And that’s costing them time, trust, and productivity. 

Here’s what employees often find frustrating - and why some businesses are rethinking their approach: 

• Clunky, unintuitive interfaces.
• Poor integration with payroll, HR, or scheduling systems.
• A perception that time tracking is about control, not support. 

With hybrid work, flexible hours, and evolving labour laws, businesses need tools that empower teams, not slow them down. Finding the right tool for you means finding a tool able to work with you and your staff, instead of against you. Time tracking is the way of the future, but suffering with a software that doesn’t suit your needs doesn’t need to be inevitable. 

Related Blog: Choosing the Best Time & Attendance Software for Your Workforce

Yes, 36.9% of employees prefer not to track time, but that’s also an opportunity. By shifting the narrative, businesses can build trust, boost engagement, and ensure time tracking becomes a tool for empowerment, not oversight. When employees understand how tracking protects their rights and supports their wellbeing, scepticism turns into support. 

The SD Worx HR & Payroll Pulse Survey shows that time tracking is here to stay. But how it’s implemented makes all the difference. 

Companies that stick with outdated systems risk losing productivity, employee trust and ultimately, their competitive edge. Those that invest in modern, employee-first solutions stand to gain from compliance and efficiency to engagement and satisfaction.