Hours Calculator

Shifts that cross midnight

A shift from 22:00 to 06:00 is eight hours, but subtracting the raw clock values gives minus sixteen. This page treats an end time earlier than the start time as the following day, which is the behavior night-shift workers need and the one most simple spreadsheets get wrong.

Unpaid breaks come out of the total

Under US federal law, short rest breaks of roughly 5 to 20 minutes are generally counted as paid work time, while bona fide meal periods of 30 minutes or more during which the employee is fully relieved of duty are not. Deduct only genuine unpaid meal periods here. A break where you are still expected to answer calls or cover a desk is generally compensable time.

Overtime starts at 40 hours in a week

The federal standard is time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a single workweek — not over eight in a day. Some states, notably California, add daily overtime rules on top, and some roles are exempt entirely. The split above uses the federal weekly rule, which is the common case; check your state and classification if either might differ.

Rounding rules and why they matter

Employers may round recorded time, commonly to the nearest quarter hour, but the rounding has to be neutral — it cannot systematically favor the employer over time. Rounding every clock-in up and every clock-out down is not permitted. Over a year, a few minutes shaved each day adds to real money, which is why keeping your own record of actual start and end times is worth the small effort. This calculator uses exact minutes with no rounding, so the figure here is the unrounded truth to compare against a payslip.

Frequently Asked Questions