Hours Worked Calculator (Time Card)

How the hours are calculated

Hours for a shift = End time − Start time − Unpaid break

If the end time is earlier than the start time, the shift is treated as running past midnight into the next day. The total of all shifts is shown in hours and minutes (7:45) and as decimal hours (7.75), because payroll systems and timesheets usually want decimals.

Example: a shift from 09:00 to 17:30 with a 30-minute unpaid break is 8 h 30 min − 30 min = 8 hours. A night shift from 22:00 to 06:00 with a 45-minute break is 8 h − 45 min = 7 h 15 min, or 7.25 hours. Together that is 15 h 15 min = 15.25 hours; at a rate of 18.50 per hour, 15.25 × 18.50 = 282.13 (282.125 rounded to the nearest cent).

Converting minutes to decimal hours

Divide the minutes by 60. A common mistake is to write 7 hours 30 minutes as 7.30; it is 7.5 hours.

Things to check with your employer

This calculator does exact arithmetic on the times you enter. It does not apply rules about which time is paid, and those rules vary by country, contract and employer:

• whether breaks are paid or unpaid (enter only unpaid breaks here);
• whether clock times are rounded, for example to the nearest 5 or 15 minutes;
• overtime thresholds and rates, night or weekend premiums;
• which activities count as working time.

In the United States, the Department of Labor’s guidance on hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act is linked below; other countries have their own working-time rules.

Common questions

What about the night the clocks change?

The calculator works with clock times, not dates, so it does not know about daylight saving time. On the night clocks go forward, a shift that crosses the change is really one hour shorter than the clock times suggest; when clocks go back, it is one hour longer. Adjust that one shift by hand.

Can a shift be longer than 24 hours?

No. With clock times alone, a shift is assumed to last less than 24 hours. Split longer periods into separate rows.

Does 12:00 mean noon or midnight?

The time boxes follow your device’s 12-hour or 24-hour setting. In 24-hour time, 00:00 is midnight at the start of a day and 12:00 is noon; with AM/PM, 12:00 AM is midnight and 12:00 PM is noon.