acalculator

How many work hours in my shift?

Enter when your shift starts and ends, your unpaid break, and how many shifts you work a week. Add your hourly pay to see what you earn.

Your numbers

Earlier than the start? It counts as the next day.
Hours per shift
8

A shift from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute break is 8 hours, or 40 hours a week.

Break taken off
a 30-minute break
Per shift
8 hours
Hours per week
40
Hours per year
2,080
Overtime hours a week
0
Pay per week
$1,000.00
Pay per year
$52,000.00

Hours per shift: 8. A shift from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute break is 8 hours, or 40 hours a week.

How to calculate

Computes the hours worked in a shift after an unpaid break, the hours a week and a year, and the weekly pay with overtime after 40 hours.

Example with the default inputs (Shift starts 09:00, Shift ends 17:30, Unpaid break (minutes) 30, Shifts a week 5, Hourly pay $25.00): A shift from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute break is 8 hours, or 40 hours a week.

Method: hours per shift = (end − start, plus 24 hours when the end is earlier, − break) ÷ 60; hours per week = hours per shift × shifts; pay = rate × min(week, 40) + 1.5 × rate × max(0, week − 40).

  • An end time earlier than the start time is on the next day, so a shift is under 24 hours.
  • The break is unpaid and is taken off every shift. A break longer than the shift gives no answer; a break as long as the shift gives 0 hours (as on the time card).
  • Overtime follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act: hours over 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times the regular rate. Daily overtime rules (for example in California) are not included.
  • A year is 52 weeks. Pay is before tax.
  • Clock changes for daylight saving time are not counted.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Shift starts 09:00, Shift ends 17:30, Unpaid break (minutes) 30, Shifts a week 5, Hourly pay $25.00 gives Break taken off a 30-minute break, Hours per shift 8, Per shift 8 hours, Hours per week 40, Hours per year 2,080, Pay per week $1,000.00, Pay per year $52,000.00.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: 8 h 30 min − 30 min = 8 h; 8 × 5 = 40 h; 40 × $25 = $1,000
  2. Shift starts 07:00, Shift ends 18:00, Unpaid break (minutes) 60, Shifts a week 5, Hourly pay $20.00 gives Hours per shift 10, Hours per week 50, Overtime hours a week 10, Pay per week $1,100.00, Pay per year $57,200.00.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: 40 × $20 + 10 × $30 = $1,100 (overtime after 40 hours at 1.5 times the rate, 29 U.S.C. 207(a)(1))
  3. Shift starts 22:00, Shift ends 06:30, Unpaid break (minutes) 30, Shifts a week 4 gives Hours per shift 8, Hours per week 32, Hours per year 1,664.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: 6:30 + 24:00 − 22:00 = 8 h 30 min, less 30 min = 8 h
  4. Shift starts 08:15, Shift ends 16:50, Unpaid break (minutes) 45, Shifts a week 5 gives Hours per shift 7.833333, Per shift 7 hours, 50 minutes, Hours per week 39.166667.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: 8 h 35 min − 45 min = 7 h 50 min = 7.8333 h

How it works

Times are on a 24-hour clock, turned into minutes after midnight.

  • shift length = end − start, plus 24 × 60 minutes when the end is earlier than the start (the shift ends the next day)
  • hours per shift = (shift length − unpaid break) ÷ 60
  • Break taken off says the break in words: “no break” for 0 minutes, otherwise “a N-minute break” (“an” when N is 8, 11, 18, or starts with 8, for example “an 80-minute break”).
  • hours per week = hours per shift × shifts a week
  • hours per year = hours per week × 52

With an hourly pay rate, weekly pay follows the federal overtime rule:

  • overtime hours = hours per week − 40, or 0 when that is below 0
  • pay per week = rate × (hours per week − overtime hours) + 1.5 × rate × overtime hours
  • pay per year = pay per week × 52

Assumptions

  • A shift of 0 hours shows as 0 hours, with no hours-and-minutes line. A seconds part of a time is dropped.
  • A shift is under 24 hours. The break is unpaid, whole minutes, and taken off every shift. A break longer than the shift gives no answer; a break as long as the shift gives 0 hours.
  • Shifts a week can be from 0.5 to 7, so a half shift counts.
  • Overtime is weekly only (over 40 hours at 1.5 times the rate). State daily overtime rules are not included.
  • A year is 52 weeks, and pay is before tax.
  • Daylight saving clock changes are not counted: every hour is 60 minutes.

Worked examples by hand

9:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute break, 5 days, $25 an hour. 17:30 − 9:00 = 8 hours 30 minutes, less 30 minutes = 8 hours. A week: 8 × 5 = 40 hours; a year: 40 × 52 = 2,080 hours. No overtime, so pay is 40 × $25 = $1,000 a week, or $52,000 a year.

7:00 AM to 6:00 PM with a 1-hour break, 5 days, $20 an hour. 11 hours − 1 hour = 10 hours a shift, 50 hours a week, of which 10 are overtime. Pay: 40 × $20 + 10 × $20 × 1.5 = $800 + $300 = $1,100 a week, or $57,200 a year.

10:00 PM to 6:30 AM with a 30-minute break, 4 nights. The end is earlier, so the shift runs to the next day: 6:30 + 24:00 − 22:00 = 8 hours 30 minutes, less 30 minutes = 8 hours. A week: 32 hours; a year: 32 × 52 = 1,664 hours.

8:15 AM to 4:50 PM with a 45-minute break, 5 days. 16:50 − 8:15 = 8 hours 35 minutes, less 45 minutes = 7 hours 50 minutes = 7 + 50 ÷ 60 = 7.83 hours. A week: 7.8333 × 5 = 39.17 hours.

Other questions people ask

How do I calculate my hours worked?

Subtract the start time from the end time, then take off the unpaid break. A 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM shift is 8 hours 30 minutes; less a 30-minute lunch it is 8 hours. Five of those shifts are 40 hours a week.

Is a lunch break counted as work time?

Not when it is a real meal period. Under the federal rules, a bona fide meal period (usually 30 minutes or more, fully off duty) is not work time. Short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are work time and are paid, so enter only the unpaid break.

When do I get overtime pay?

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, hours over 40 in a workweek are paid at least 1.5 times the regular rate. Five 10-hour days at $20 an hour are 40 × $20 + 10 × $30 = $1,100 a week. Some states, such as California, also pay overtime after 8 hours in a day; this calculator uses the weekly rule only.

How many work hours are in a year?

40 hours a week × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours. That is the usual figure for turning an hourly rate into a yearly salary: $25 an hour × 2,080 = $52,000 before tax.

What about a night shift that ends the next morning?

Enter the times as they are. An end time earlier than the start time is counted on the next day, so 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM is 8 hours 30 minutes.

What if my shifts are different lengths each day?

Use the time card calculator, which takes a start and end time for each day of the week.