About the Work Hours Calculator
The OnNetJobs Work Hours Calculator helps you calculate the time worked during a single shift or across an entire week. You can account for breaks, overnight work, split shifts and planned working days, then view your total in both hours-and-minutes and decimal-hour formats.
The weekly calculator can also compare the hours you have completed with a target, helping you see how much time remains and how many hours you would need to work across your remaining planned workdays.
All calculations are based on the times and assumptions you enter. The calculator does not automatically apply employment or overtime laws from any particular country.
How to Calculate Hours Worked
For a basic shift, working time is the difference between your start and finish times minus any break time you choose to deduct.
For example, suppose you work from 8:15 AM to 5:15 PM and take a 30-minute break:
- Time between start and finish: 9 hours
- Break: 30 minutes
- Total worked: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Decimal hours: 8.50 hours
This is the same basic approach commonly used by work-hours calculators: calculate the duration between the start and end times, then subtract applicable breaks.
Calculating Weekly Work Hours
The weekly timesheet lets you enter shifts from Monday through Sunday. Each day’s worked time is calculated separately before being combined into the weekly total.
This is useful when your schedule changes throughout the week. For example:
| Day | Hours worked |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8h 30m |
| Tuesday | 7h 45m |
| Wednesday | 8h 00m |
| Thursday | 8h 15m |
| Friday | 7h 30m |
| Total | 40h 00m |
You can mark the days you normally plan to work so the calculator can also determine how many planned workdays remain.
Tracking Your Weekly Hours Target
If you enter a weekly target, the calculator compares it with the hours you have already worked.
For example, if your target is 40 hours and you have completed 31 hours 30 minutes, you have:
8 hours 30 minutes remaining.
If two selected workdays remain, the calculator can also show the average amount of time you would need to work on each remaining day to reach the target.
This feature is only a planning aid. A weekly target does not determine your legal working-hours or overtime entitlement.
How Breaks Are Deducted
Enter the number of break minutes you want deducted from each shift.
For example:
9-hour shift − 60-minute break = 8 hours worked
Only enter breaks that should actually be excluded from your working time. Whether a particular break counts as paid or unpaid time can depend on your employment arrangements and applicable law.
Overnight and Split Shifts
Not every shift starts and ends on the same calendar day.
If you work from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM, select the overnight option so the calculator understands that the finish time occurs on the following day.
You can also add a second shift to the same day. This can be useful for split schedules such as:
- 8:00 AM–12:00 PM
- 4:00 PM–8:00 PM
The calculator totals both work periods while keeping them separate for easier review.
Hours and Minutes vs Decimal Hours
Work time is often displayed in two formats.
8h 30m is the normal hours-and-minutes format.
The same duration in decimal form is 8.50 hours.
Minutes are converted to decimal hours by dividing them by 60. So:
30 ÷ 60 = 0.50 hours
Similarly, 15 minutes equals 0.25 hours and 45 minutes equals 0.75 hours. Decimal hours are commonly useful when multiplying working time by an hourly pay rate.
Regular and Additional Hours
You can choose your own regular-hours threshold. Hours above that threshold are displayed separately as additional hours.
For example, with a threshold of 40 hours:
- Total worked: 44 hours
- Regular hours: 40
- Additional hours: 4
The calculator deliberately does not decide when overtime legally begins.
For example, in the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act generally requires covered, nonexempt employees to receive overtime after 40 hours in a workweek at no less than 1.5 times their regular rate, but exemptions and other rules can apply. Rules differ between jurisdictions, so use the threshold and multiplier applicable to your own situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate my work hours?
Subtract your start time from your finish time and then deduct any applicable break time. For multiple shifts or days, calculate each period and add the results together.
How many hours is 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM?
The total elapsed time is 9 hours. If you deduct a one-hour break, the resulting worked time is 8 hours.
What is 8 hours 30 minutes in decimal hours?
It is 8.5 hours because 30 minutes divided by 60 equals 0.5.
Can the calculator handle overnight shifts?
Yes. Use the overnight option when a shift finishes on the following calendar day, such as 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM.
Can I calculate split shifts?
Yes. The weekly calculator allows a second shift to be added to a day, making it possible to calculate two separate working periods within the same day.
Does the calculator automatically calculate overtime?
It separates hours above the regular-hours threshold you specify, but it does not determine whether those hours legally qualify for overtime. Overtime requirements depend on the applicable employment rules. In the U.S., for example, federal overtime requirements generally apply after 40 hours in a workweek for covered, nonexempt employees.
Does the Work Hours Calculator save my timesheet?
No. Your work-hour calculations are performed in the calculator and are not stored as an employee timesheet or payroll record.