Shift Duration & Paid Time
Shift Hours Calculator
Calculate your exact shift length and payable work hours. Deduct meal breaks and visualize your shift schedule on the visual timeline.
Shift Schedule & Breaks
Calculate net shift length after subtracting meal periods
Total Shift Length8h 30m
Unpaid Break− 30 mins
Shift Timeline
Worked (8.00h)
Start7:00 AM
Unpaid Break30 mins
End3:30 PM
Paid Shift Hours
Hours & Minutes
8h 00m
Decimal Hours (Payroll)
8.00hrs
1 days with hours
Total Minutes: 480
Quick Answer: Calculating Single Shift Hours & Breaks
Paid Shift Duration = (Clock-Out Time − Clock-In Time) − Unpaid Break Minutes.
Standard full-time shifts (such as 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM with a 30-minute lunch) yield 8.00 paid hours. If your shift spans midnight, the engine automatically calculates across the 12:00 AM threshold.
Shift Length vs. Paid Hours
When planning a work schedule, it is important to distinguish between scheduled shift duration and payable working hours:
- Scheduled Shift: The total time you are on-site (e.g., 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM = 8.5 hours).
- Unpaid Meal Period: Typically 30 to 60 minutes where you are fully relieved of all duties.
- Payable Hours: 8.5 hours minus 0.5 hour break = 8.0 paid work hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shift length is the total elapsed clock time between when you arrive and when you leave. Paid shift hours equal total elapsed time minus any unpaid breaks (such as a 30-minute lunch).