Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 17 Sept 2026, 15:09 BST

Official UK procurement notice

GWR Time and Attendance System

Authority: FIRST GREATER WESTERN LIMITED (Public body)

GoodsAbove thresholdUtilities
Sectors: Software Packages & ERP (48) Delivery: UK
Published estimate £2,500,000≈ £500k / year · £3,000,000 inc. VAT
Tender notice expected 30 Jan 2027from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 5 yrsup to 7 yrs with extensions · starts 1 Nov 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This procurement process is being advertised and run by First Greater Western limited on its own behalf and on behalf of the successor operator of the rail passenger transport services in respect of Great Western Railway (GWR). That successor operator will be a public sector company, is expected to be a wholly owned subsidiary of DfT OLR Holdings Limited and will be ultimately owned by the Secretary of State for Transport. The date for transfer of the current operations to the successor operator is not yet confirmed. Where the transfer is completed before contract award under this procurement process, the successor operator may elect (but will not be obliged) to carry on with this procurement process in place of GWR, by taking on the role of contracting entity from the date of completion of the transfer (with this notice and all other procurement documents to be interpreted accordingly). Where the transfer is not yet completed by the time of contract award, contractual rights may be included in the contractual arrangements to enable transfer to the successor operator. Bidders should note that this procurement process (if ongoing), or any awarded contract, may be included in a transfer scheme made by the Secretary of State under section 12 of the Railways Act 2005, or the transfer may be effected outside of, or separate from, such a scheme.

Read the full description (1,146 more characters)

If transfer takes place before the contract award the successor operator shall assume all the rights of the Client set out in this document. All references to the Client shall be deemed to refer to the successor operator for the purposes of this procurement and the successor operator shall be entitled to continue or terminate this procurement as if it was involved.

This Preliminary Market Engagement will help GWR understand capability in the market and lead to GWR procuring and implementing a new integrated Time & Attendance (T&A) solution that meets GWR's operational, HR, safety, payroll, and organisational requirements.

The overall objective of the procurement is to provide GWR a modern, integrated T&A capability with standardised processes, clear governance, seamless system integration, and improved workforce reporting and analytics.

GWR currently operates 3 different Time and Attendance systems in different business areas.

Proposed system Capabilities must include:

o Rostering & scheduling

o Time capture (mobile, geofencing, clock-in/out)

o Leave & absence management

o Fatigue management & compliance

o Workflow automation (approvals)

CPV: Industry specific software package

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Lot 1PlannedRenewal 5 yrs
Contract period: 1 Nov 2027 — 31 Oct 2032 (5 yrs) · up to 7 yrs with extensionsDelivery: UK
Extensions
Extension options published
48100000 Industry specific software package

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Utilities
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
17 Sept 2026, 15:09 BST
Last source update
17 Sept 2026, 15:09 BST
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Industry specific software package
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0773f6

How it was run

Submission deadline

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Planning notice published3 days ago
    17 Sept 2026, 08:47 BST
  2. Market engagementin 14 days
    3 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
    GWR want to hear from Suppliers who have capability to provide an enterprise wide Time and Attendance System. GWR will host a Supplier briefing session with interested parties on the w/c 12th October 2026. This session will be held virtually on Microsoft teams. Exact time/date/length of the session more…will be confirmed to suppliers in due course. Registration Link below: https://s2c-uk62.waxdigital.com/FirstGroupPlc/DisplayModules/TradeModules/Negotiations/Opportunities/ViewOpportunityEvent.aspx?EventID=5374&Culture=en-GB
  3. Tender notice expectedin 133 days
    30 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
  4. Contract starts
    1 Nov 2027, 00:00 GMT

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 17 Sept 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    17 Sept 2026, 15:09 BSTUK2
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    17 Sept 2026, 08:47 BSTUK2
Published amendments (1)

Updated registration link https://s2c-uk62.waxdigital.com/FirstGroupPlc/DisplayModules/TradeModules/Negotiations/Opportunities/ViewOpportunityEvent.aspx?EventID=5374&Culture=en-GB

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

FIRST GREATER WESTERN LIMITED

Contracting authorityPrivate utility GB-COH: 05113733 · GB-PPON: PXVG-2764-GZCQ Milford House 1 Milford Street, Wiltshire, South West, SN1 1HL [email protected]
View buyer profile →

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure