What is the Work Hours Calculator?
The Work Hours Calculator makes it quick and effortless to compute exact hours worked in a single day or across a standard work week. Simply enter your shift start time, end time, and unpaid break duration to instantly calculate total elapsed hours, net billable hours, and decimal hour equivalents.
Unlike basic arithmetic tools, this calculator automatically recognizes overnight shifts that cross midnight, supports optional split shifts or second work shifts, and tracks regular versus overtime hours based on your weekly threshold.
All calculations are performed directly inside your web browser. None of your confidential schedule or salary information is ever transmitted to a server or tracked.
How to Use This Calculator
- 1Enter your shift start time (e.g., 09:00 AM) and end time (e.g., 05:00 PM).
- 2Enter your unpaid lunch or break duration in minutes (e.g., 30 or 60).
- 3Specify how many days per week you work (default is 5 days).
- 4Optionally enable a second shift if you work split shifts or double shifts.
- 5Review your calculated daily hours, weekly total, and decimal hours instantly.
- 6Click 'Copy Result' to paste your schedule into an email, invoice, or timesheet.
Work Hours Calculation Formula
Daily shift duration is measured from punch-in to punch-out. If the end time is numerically earlier than the start time, 24 hours (1,440 minutes) are added to accurately record an overnight shift.
Worked Example: Standard 8-Hour Workday with 30-Minute Lunch
An employee clocks in at 8:30 AM, takes a 30-minute unpaid lunch break, and clocks out at 5:00 PM across 5 days a week.
Given Inputs
Step-by-Step Calculation
- Elapsed time from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM = 8 hours and 30 minutes (510 minutes).
- Subtract 30 minutes unpaid lunch = 8 hours (480 minutes) net work per day.
- Multiply 8 hours by 5 workdays = 40.00 total hours per week.
- Convert to decimal hours: 8 hours 0 minutes = 8.00 decimal hours.
Important Notes & Assumptions
- Assumes break time is unpaid. If your workplace provides paid breaks under 20 minutes, enter 0 for those periods.
- Overnight shifts crossing midnight are handled automatically based on 24-hour elapsed time.
- Standard weekly overtime threshold is set to 40 hours unless customized.
- Decimal hours are rounded to 2 decimal places using standard mathematical rounding.
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