From clock times to clear work hours
Understand unpaid breaks, overnight periods, and decimal hours.
Work in minutes first
Convert each time to minutes after midnight. For example, 08:30 is 510 minutes and 17:00 is 1,020 minutes. The difference is 510 minutes, or 8 hours 30 minutes.
Subtract a 30-minute unpaid break and the result is 480 minutes: 8 hours. Keeping the intermediate calculation in minutes avoids confusing decimal fractions with minutes.
Be explicit about overnight work
If a shift begins at 22:00 and ends at 06:00 the next day, the clock-time duration is 8 hours. A calculator needs to know that the end belongs to the following day.
A shift across a daylight-saving change can have a different actual elapsed duration. A simple hours calculator without dates and zones cannot resolve that difference.
Convert only at the end
Divide the total minutes by 60 to get decimal hours. Seven hours and 45 minutes equals 7.75 hours, not 7.45 hours.
Enter separate work periods once each. Overlapping entries can double-count time. Payroll rules, rounding and overtime depend on the applicable agreement; this tool only totals the times you enter.