Time management courses online in the UK: where to train and what employers look for

What employers look for in an online time management course

There is no law that says you must train in time management, so your employer decides what training each role needs. What the law and HSE guidance do expect is that workloads are achievable, people have a say in how they do their work, and working hours and rest breaks stay within the Working Time Regulations. When an employer looks at an online time management course, they usually look for:

• Methods people can use the same day. A time log, a way to separate urgent from important, a weekly plan, a short daily list and blocks of focused time.
• Help with the real causes of lost time. Interruptions, email, meetings and procrastination, and how to say no, delegate or renegotiate a deadline without damaging relationships.
• Content that links workload to wellbeing. The limits and rest rights in the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the HSE Management Standards on demands and control.
• A clear, verifiable record. The course name, hours of learning and completion date, with a way to confirm the certificate.
• A refresh date. Habits slip and jobs change, so a refresh date matters.

Lift College's certificate does each of these. It records the Time Management Course, 2 hours of learning, your completion date and a recommended refresh date 3 years on, with a unique certificate number and a verification link. It is not a project management course and not a treatment for stress or anxiety; if workload is affecting your health, speak to your manager or GP.

What the Lift College course covers

There are 5 short modules, each with a knowledge check, then a multiple choice final test with an 80% pass mark and unlimited free retakes.

1. Where your time really goes. Keeping a simple time log for a week, the gap between how busy you feel and what you finish, common time wasters, your own working style and energy pattern, and what the Working Time Regulations say about hours, breaks and rest.
2. Deciding what matters. Urgent versus important, the four-box priority grid, linking tasks to the goals your role is judged on, the cost of saying yes to everything, and how to say no, delegate or renegotiate a deadline without damaging relationships.
3. Planning your day and week. Weekly planning in fifteen minutes, a daily list of three things that must get done, time blocking for focused work, leaving room for the unexpected, estimating how long tasks really take, and planning around the hours when you have most energy.
4. Interruptions, email, meetings and procrastination. Batching email and messages, turning off notifications, handling people who drop by, making meetings shorter or avoiding them, why we put things off, breaking large tasks into first steps, and getting back on track after a bad day.
5. Building a system that lasts. Choosing one place for tasks, one calendar and one weekly review, paper versus digital tools, routines for the start and end of the day, keeping work from spilling into home life, and how the HSE Management Standards link workload, control and stress.

By the end you can explain where your working time goes, separate urgent tasks from important ones and decide what to do first, plan a realistic day and week, deal with procrastination, manage email, meetings and interruptions, say no or renegotiate a deadline, describe the limits and rest rights in the Working Time Regulations, and build a personal system of lists, calendar and weekly review.

The law and guidance it is written around

Time management training is not required by law, but the course is written around the law and guidance below.

• Working Time Regulations 1998 (Great Britain). Most workers cannot be required to work more than an average of 48 hours a week unless they have opted out in writing, and are entitled to a 20 minute rest break when the working day is longer than 6 hours, 11 hours' rest between working days, a weekly rest period and 5.6 weeks' paid annual leave. Northern Ireland has its own Working Time Regulations with the same main limits.
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2 (England, Wales and Scotland). Employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of their employees, which includes their mental health and the effects of workload and long hours. Northern Ireland has the same duty in the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.
• HSE Management Standards for work-related stress (Great Britain). Not law, but HSE's guidance on how employers meet their legal duty to assess and control the risk of work-related stress. The six standards cover demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. Demands and control are the two most closely linked to time management: workloads should be achievable and people should have a say in how they do their work.

How Lift College compares with other UK providers

Details below are as each provider shows them on its own course page, checked 27 October 2026. "Check provider" means the page did not state it.

With Lift College the £19.99 is the full price for one learner, with nothing added at checkout, and the refresher is free when your recommended refresh date arrives. Retakes of the final test are free and unlimited.

Who it suits

The Time Management Course is for anyone in a UK workplace whose day is not fully structured by someone else, in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is for you if:

• you end most days with a to-do list longer than the one you started with
• you manage a team or a project and need to keep several things moving at once
• you work from home or alone and nobody else structures your day
• you are self-employed and your time is directly your income
• you are returning to work after a break or starting your first office job and want good habits from day one

If workload is starting to affect how you feel, see our mental health awareness training guide, and to brief, ask and say no more clearly see our communication skills course guide. See every course on the workplace skills courses page or browse all Lift College CPD courses. Buying for a team? Open a free organisation account: every course is £16.99, and you can pay by card or invoice with your PO.

Enrol on the Time Management Course for £19.99 and start module 1 the minute you pay. Ask within 14 days of paying and we refund you in full.