Work hours & pay
Work hours calculator
Enter when you started, when you finished and how long your unpaid break was; get the hours worked and, if you add a rate, the pay.
Clock-out earlier than clock-in is read as an overnight shift. Leave the rate at 0 to skip the pay line.
How to calculate hours worked
Hours worked are the time between clocking in and clocking out, minus any unpaid break. The calculator does it in three steps: it converts both times to minutes after midnight, subtracts the start from the end (adding 24 hours if the shift ends after midnight), then removes the break. A shift from 9:00 to 17:30 with a 30-minute lunch is 8 hours 30 minutes on site and 8 hours of paid work.
Payroll systems usually want decimal hours rather than hours and minutes, because pay is rate × hours. To convert, divide the minutes by 60: 7 h 45 min is 7.75 hours, 7 h 20 min is 7.33 hours. Typing 7.45 for 7 h 45 min is the most common timesheet mistake, and it underpays 18 minutes each time.
| Shift | Unpaid break | Hours worked | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 – 16:30 | 30 min | 8 h | 8.00 |
| 09:00 – 17:45 | 45 min | 8 h | 8.00 |
| 07:30 – 15:50 | 20 min | 8 h | 8.00 |
| 22:00 – 06:30 | 30 min | 8 h | 8.00 |
| 10:00 – 14:15 | none | 4 h 15 min | 4.25 |
Paid and unpaid breaks
Whether a break counts as working time depends on your contract and local law. In the United States, short rest breaks of about 5–20 minutes are generally treated as paid time under federal rules, while a genuine meal break of 30 minutes or more, where you are fully relieved of duty, can be unpaid. Many European countries require a break once the working day passes six hours. If your breaks are paid, enter 0 in the break field so they are not deducted.
For a full week, add each day's decimal hours together; anything above your overtime threshold (often 40 hours a week in the US) is usually paid at a higher rate. Keeping a daily record of clock-in, clock-out and break times is the easiest way to spot errors on a payslip, and it takes less than a minute a day.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate hours worked with a lunch break?
Subtract the clock-in time from the clock-out time, then subtract the unpaid lunch. For example, 8:30 to 17:00 is 8 hours 30 minutes; minus a 30-minute lunch gives 8 hours worked.
How do I convert hours and minutes to decimal hours?
Divide the minutes by 60 and add them to the hours. 15 minutes is 0.25, 30 minutes is 0.5, 45 minutes is 0.75, so 6 h 45 min is 6.75 hours.
Does the calculator work for night shifts?
Yes. If the clock-out time is earlier than the clock-in time, it treats the shift as ending the next day, so 22:00 to 06:00 counts as 8 hours before breaks.