Hours worked: overnight shifts, breaks and decimal hours for payroll
Hours worked are the end time minus the start time, with a day added if the end is earlier than the start, minus any unpaid break. A shift from 22:00 to 06:30 with a 30-minute break is 8 hours 30 minutes, less 30 minutes, which is 8:00, or 8.00 in decimal hours.
Hours calculatorHow many hours did I work?OpenSubtract in minutes
Turn each time into minutes after midnight, so there is no borrowing between hours and minutes. 09:00 is 540 minutes and 17:30 is 1,050 minutes. The difference is 510 minutes, or 8 hours 30 minutes. Take off the 30-minute break and the shift is 480 minutes, which is 8:00.
Minutes also make awkward sums easy. 09:30 to 17:45 is 1,065 − 570 = 495 minutes, or 8 hours 15 minutes, with no need to borrow an hour.
Decimal hours for payroll
Many payroll systems pay in decimal hours, because pay is hours multiplied by the hourly rate. To convert, divide the minutes by 60:
| Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|
| 6 | 0.10 |
| 15 | 0.25 |
| 30 | 0.50 |
| 45 | 0.75 |
So 7 hours 30 minutes is 7.5 hours, not 7.3. Writing 7:30 as 7.30 and then multiplying by the rate is the most common timesheet error. A shift of 7:45 at 18.00 an hour is 7.75 × 18 = 139.50.
Overnight shifts
If the end time is earlier than the start time, the shift ends on the next day. For 22:00 to 06:30, the end is 06:30 plus 24 hours, and 30:30 less 22:00 is 8:30. The hours calculator does this for every row.
Midnight is read as the next day. A shift from 22:00 to 00:00 is 2 hours, because 00:00 is earlier than 22:00 and so falls on the next day.
Breaks
Enter an unpaid break in minutes, and it comes off the shift. Whether a break is paid depends on the employer's policy or the local rules, so check before you subtract it. A break longer than the shift is an error. The calculator flags that row and leaves it out of the total. To time a break as it happens, the online timer has a stopwatch with laps.
A week of shifts
Add one row for each day, and the total is the sum of the shifts. Here is an example with four shifts:
| Day | Start | End | Break | Worked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 09:00 | 17:00 | 30 min | 7:30 |
| Tuesday | 09:00 | 17:00 | 30 min | 7:30 |
| Wednesday | 13:00 | 21:30 | none | 8:30 |
| Thursday | 22:00 | 06:30 | 30 min | 8:00 |
The total is 31:30, or 31.50 hours. Pay for that week is 31.50 times the hourly rate. The date calculator counts the days in a pay period if you need the number of days as well.
Rounding to the quarter hour
Some employers round clock times to the nearest quarter hour before they pay, so a shift on the clock does not always match the hours paid. Rounding can help or hurt the worker, depending on which way the minutes fall. Take a shift from 08:52 to 17:08. The exact time is 8 hours 16 minutes. Rounding each time to the nearest quarter hour gives 08:45 to 17:15, which is 8 hours 30 minutes. Find out which rule applies before you copy a rounded figure onto a timesheet, and record the exact times if the policy allows.
Clock changes
On the night the clocks change, a shift can be an hour longer or shorter in real time than the clock times suggest. A calculator that works on clock times cannot see the change. For a shift that crosses a clock change, add or take off the hour by hand, and note it on the timesheet.
Pay from hours
Pay is the decimal hours times the hourly rate, rounded to the cent. Overtime rules, higher rates for night work and tax are separate, and they vary by employer and place. The calculator gives the basic figure only.
Check a total by hand
- Convert both times to minutes after midnight.
- If the end is smaller than the start, add 1,440 minutes to the end.
- Subtract the start from the end, then subtract the break.
- Divide the minutes by 60 for decimal hours.
Edge cases
- Same start and end time. The shift counts as zero hours. If the shift really lasted 24 hours, check the record, because the clock cannot show it.
- Times over 24 hours. A single shift is assumed to be under 24 hours.
- 12-hour and 24-hour clocks. 22:00 is 10:00 PM. The time boxes read both formats, so check the value shown before you rely on it.
- Work across time zones. Use one time zone for the whole timesheet, and say which one.
Quick answers
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours? Divide by 60. 45 minutes is 0.75 hours.
Is 7.30 hours the same as 7:30? No. 7:30 is 7.5 hours.
How do overnight shifts work? If the end is earlier than the start, add 24 hours to the end before you subtract.
