How it's calculated
The calculator converts both times to the 24-hour clock, subtracts the start from the end, and deducts the unpaid break. If the end time is earlier than the start, it assumes the shift crossed midnight — so 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM correctly returns 8 hours.
Example: 8:45 AM to 5:15 PM is 8 hours 30 minutes. Minus a 30-minute lunch = 8:00, or 8.00 decimal hours.
Common shift lengths
| Shift | With 30-min break | Decimal |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM | 7:30 | 7.50 |
| 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| 10:00 PM – 6:00 AM | 7:30 | 7.50 |
| 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM | 7:30 | 7.50 |
Totaling a whole week of shifts? The weekly time card calculator does all seven days with overtime and pay, the decimal hours converter flips any single value between h:mm and decimal, and for spans longer than a day the time duration calculator counts days, hours and minutes between two moments.