Hours Calculator — Calculate Work Hours, Breaks and Weekly Totals
Enter a start time, end time, and break minutes for each shift. Get net hours per shift, automatic decimal conversion, and a running weekly total instantly. Free, no login, works on any device.
What is an hours calculator?
An hours calculator is a tool that computes the number of hours worked between a start time and an end time, subtracts unpaid break minutes, converts the result to decimal hours, and totals multiple shifts into a weekly sum. It is used for timesheet completion, payroll preparation, and overtime tracking.
Enter Your Work Schedule
| Label | Date | Start Time | End Time | Break (min) | Net Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| none |
Quick Answer
A work hours calculator computes how many hours you worked by subtracting a start time from an end time and removing unpaid break minutes. It converts the result to decimal hours and adds each shift to a weekly total. People use it to fill in timesheets, verify pay, track overtime, and prepare freelance invoices.
Unlike a basic time calculator that simply finds the gap between two clock times, a work hours calculator is purpose-built for employment and payroll contexts. It handles the specific things a working schedule requires: break deductions, multi-day entries, overnight crossovers, decimal conversion, and weekly overtime thresholds.
What this hours calculator computes
- Net hours per shift: gross elapsed time minus unpaid break minutes, shown in both HH:MM and decimal format side by side
- Weekly total hours: every shift summed automatically as you add rows, updating live without any submit button
- Decimal hours: 7h 30m becomes 7.50, the exact format payroll software, HR systems, and billing platforms expect
- Over-threshold hours: any hours above your weekly limit shown separately so you can spot a heavy week before submitting
- Daily average: total weekly hours divided by days entered, most useful when shift lengths vary from day to day
- Weekend vs weekday split: one checkbox separates standard and weekend hours across the whole week
- Gross pay estimate: enter an hourly rate and the calculator multiplies regular hours at standard rate and over-threshold hours at 1.5x automatically
How it is different from similar tools
| Tool | Primary Purpose | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Hours Calculator | Calculate net worked hours per shift and weekly total | Break deduction and decimal conversion |
| Time Calculator | General time arithmetic — add, subtract, find duration | Adding or subtracting multiple time durations |
| Time Card Calculator | Formal payroll records with clock-in and clock-out punch data | Printable time cards and employer approval records |
Quick Answer
To calculate work hours: enter your start time and end time, subtract unpaid break minutes, then divide the remaining minutes by 60 to get decimal hours. For a full week, repeat for each day and add the daily totals together.
The calculator does all of this automatically as you type. Here is what each step does.
Enter start time and end time
Use 24-hour or 12-hour format and switch between them using the toggle at the top of the table. For overnight shifts, for example starting at 10 PM and finishing at 6 AM, enter the times exactly as they are. The calculator detects when an end time is earlier than a start time and adds 24 hours automatically. A Night badge marks that row in the results.
Enter unpaid break minutes
Type the number of unpaid minutes in the Break column. A standard unpaid lunch is 30 minutes. A 45-minute break is 45. Only enter truly unpaid time. Paid rest breaks, like a 10-minute morning break your employer pays you for, still count as worked hours and must not be deducted here.
Add a row for every workday
Click Add Row for each additional shift. You can add a short label like Monday or Client Visit to keep rows organised. Each row updates the running weekly total the moment you enter a value. Add as many rows as needed for a single day, a full week, or a two-week pay period.
Read the summary
The results card shows total hours in HH:MM and decimal, your daily average, over-threshold hours if any, and a full day-by-day breakdown table. Click Export CSV to download the schedule as a spreadsheet file you can submit with a timesheet or open in payroll software.
Optional: Gross Pay Estimate
Open the pay settings section below the schedule table and enter your hourly rate. The calculator applies the rate to your regular hours and multiplies any over-threshold hours at 1.5 times the rate. The gross figure appears in the summary card. It is a pre-tax estimate only and does not account for deductions or employer-specific payroll rules.
The Work Hours Formula
Net Hours = (End Time in minutes minus Start Time in minutes minus Break minutes) divided by 60
Example: (1,050 minus 540 minus 30) divided by 60 = 8.00 decimal hours
Working in whole minutes rather than decimal fractions avoids floating-point rounding errors. That is the internal method this calculator uses, which is why results stay consistent at two decimal places regardless of how many shifts you add together.
Step-by-step worked calculation
Step 1: Convert both times to total minutes
9:00 AM = 540 minutes and 5:30 PM = 1,050 minutes
Step 2: Find elapsed time
1,050 minus 540 = 510 minutes (8 hours 30 minutes gross)
Step 3: Subtract unpaid break
510 minus 30 = 480 minutes net worked time
Step 4: Convert to decimal hours
480 divided by 60 = 8.00 decimal hours
How to convert hours and minutes to decimal hours
Decimal Hours Formula
Decimal Hours = Whole Hours + (Minutes divided by 60)
Payroll software stores time in decimal format because it makes rate multiplication clean and error-free. 8.5 decimal hours multiplied by $18 per hour equals $153. Writing "8 hours 30 minutes" requires an extra manual conversion before you can multiply.
7h 30m
7.50
8h 45m
8.75
6h 20m
6.33
9h 15m
9.25
How overnight shifts are calculated
Overnight shift rule
When end time is earlier than start time, add 24 hours to the end time before subtracting.
Start: 22:00 and End: 06:00 (next day) with 45-minute break
(06:00 plus 24 hours = 30:00) minus 22:00 = 8h 00m minus 45m = 7h 15m = 7.25 decimal hours
How weekly overtime is calculated
Overtime formula
Over-threshold hours = Total weekly hours minus Weekly threshold
Example: 46.5 hours minus 40 hours = 6.5 overtime hours
Gross pay at $18/hr: (40 x $18) + (6.5 x $27) = $720 + $175.50 = $895.50
Quick Answer
To calculate weekly work hours, add one row per workday, enter start time, end time, and break minutes for each day, and the calculator sums the daily totals automatically. You do not need to enter dates unless you want weekend shifts identified separately.
Standard 40-hour week example
| Day | Start | End | Break | Net Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 7.50 |
| Tuesday | 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 7.50 |
| Wednesday | 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 7.50 |
| Thursday | 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 7.50 |
| Friday | 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 7.50 |
| Weekly Total | 37.50 hours | |||
Note: 9 AM to 5 PM with a 30-minute lunch is 7.5 net hours, not 8. Five days totals 37.5 hours, not 40. This is the most common timesheet error people make when calculating manually.
How many hours per week is full-time?
Direct Answer
Full-time employment is 40 hours per week in the United States under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Affordable Care Act uses 30 hours per week as the threshold for benefits eligibility. In the United Kingdom, most employers set full-time at 35 to 37.5 hours per week, though there is no fixed legal minimum. Canada's federal standard is 40 hours per week, with some provinces varying.
Overtime rules by country
United States (FLSA)
Overtime applies when weekly hours exceed 40. Pay rate is 1.5 times the regular rate. California also triggers overtime when a single shift exceeds 8 hours.
United Kingdom
No statutory overtime rate. The Working Time Regulations cap average weekly hours at 48. Employers set their own overtime terms in employment contracts.
Canada (Federal)
Overtime applies after 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week, whichever is reached first. Alberta's weekly threshold is 44 hours.
How to convert minutes to decimal hours
Divide the minutes by 60 and add the result to the whole hours. For example: 8 hours 45 minutes = 8 + (45 / 60) = 8.75 decimal hours. To reverse it: multiply the decimal fraction by 60. So 8.75 means 0.75 x 60 = 45 minutes, giving 8 hours 45 minutes.
| Minutes | Decimal Hours | Minutes | Decimal Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 0.08 | 35 min | 0.58 |
| 10 min | 0.17 | 40 min | 0.67 |
| 15 min | 0.25 | 45 min | 0.75 |
| 20 min | 0.33 | 50 min | 0.83 |
| 25 min | 0.42 | 55 min | 0.92 |
| 30 min | 0.50 | 60 min | 1.00 |
These real scenarios show how the hours calculator is used across different jobs and situations.
Example 1: Employee filling a weekly timesheet
Scenario: Sarah works 9 AM to 5:30 PM Monday to Friday with a 30-minute unpaid lunch each day.
Calculation: Each shift: 8h 30m gross minus 30 min break = 8.00 net hours. Weekly total: 5 x 8.00 = 40.00 hours.
Outcome: Sarah enters 40.00 in the decimal field of her HR system. No manual conversion needed.
Example 2: Night shift worker tracking hours
Scenario: James works a 10 PM to 6 AM hospital shift with a 45-minute unpaid break.
Calculation: End time 06:00 plus 24 hours = 30:00. 30:00 minus 22:00 = 8h 00m gross. Minus 45 min = 7h 15m = 7.25 decimal hours.
Outcome: James sees 7.25h in the results and submits that figure on his timesheet without any manual overnight calculation.
Example 3: Freelancer preparing a weekly invoice
Scenario: Alex logs 4 client sessions this week: 2h 30m, 3h 15m, 1h 45m, and 4h 00m.
Calculation: Total: 2.50 + 3.25 + 1.75 + 4.00 = 11.50 decimal hours. At $75/hr: 11.50 x $75 = $862.50.
Outcome: Alex enters the rate in the pay estimate field and the calculator shows the invoice total directly.
Example 4: Manager checking for overtime before payroll
Scenario: A team member has logged 10-hour shifts Monday to Friday with 30-minute breaks.
Calculation: Each day: 10h gross minus 30 min = 9.50 net hours. Weekly total: 5 x 9.50 = 47.50 hours. Over-threshold: 47.50 minus 40 = 7.50 hours.
Outcome: The manager sees the 7.50-hour over-threshold flag in the summary before submitting payroll, avoiding a missing overtime payment.
These five errors account for most incorrect timesheets and pay disputes. Knowing them prevents problems before they occur.
Not deducting the unpaid lunch break
A 9 AM to 5 PM shift is 8 gross hours. After a 30-minute unpaid lunch, net worked hours are 7.5. Submitting 8 hours means claiming half an hour of time not actually worked.
Deducting paid rest breaks by mistake
Only unpaid breaks reduce your hours. A paid 10-minute morning break still counts as worked time. Do not enter it in the break minutes field.
Calculating overnight shifts incorrectly by hand
Subtracting 10 PM from 6 AM gives a negative result manually. The correct method adds 24 hours to the end time first. This calculator handles that automatically.
Entering HH:MM into a system that expects decimal
If your payroll system expects 8.75 and you enter 8:45, it records 8.45 hours, which is 18 minutes short per shift. Always use the decimal result shown in this calculator when submitting to digital systems.
Assuming overtime starts from the first hour every day
Under US federal law, overtime is based on weekly totals exceeding 40 hours, not daily totals. California is the key exception where daily overtime above 8 hours also applies. Confirm the rules for your specific state or country.
Multi-Day Entries
Add as many rows as needed for any pay period
Overnight Shifts
Midnight crossover detected automatically
Overtime Tracking
Regular and over-threshold hours split clearly
CSV Export
Download full schedule as a spreadsheet
4 to 6 hour shift
One 15-minute paid rest. Enter 0 unpaid minutes.
6 to 8 hour shift
30-minute unpaid meal break. Enter 30 minutes.
8 or more hours
30-minute meal break plus one 15-minute rest.
12-hour shift
30 to 60 unpaid minutes depending on employer.
Enter only unpaid break minutes. Break rules vary by country and employer.
USA (FLSA)
Threshold: 40 hours/week
Overtime rate: 1.5x regular rate
UK (WTR)
Threshold: 48 hours/week avg
Overtime rate: No statutory rate
Canada (Federal)
Threshold: 40 hours/week
Overtime rate: 1.5x regular rate
Alberta, Canada
Threshold: 44 hours/week
Overtime rate: 1.5x regular rate
Always confirm the rules in your employment contract.
Log hours at the end of each shift while start and end times are still fresh
Only enter unpaid breaks. Paid rest periods count as worked time
Use 24-hour format to avoid AM and PM errors on night shifts
Add a date to each row so weekend shifts are flagged automatically
Export to CSV as a personal backup alongside employer records