Work Hours Counter

Calculate total worked hours for a shift after subtracting break time.

Result

Enter your shift details.

How to Use This Work Hours Counter

Enter your start time, end time, and any unpaid break in minutes. The calculator subtracts the break from the time between start and end, and shows the total worked time in both hours and minutes. If your end time is earlier than your start time (an overnight shift), it automatically treats the shift as crossing midnight instead of returning a negative number.

Common Uses

Useful for logging hours on a timesheet, checking a single shift's length before submitting it for payroll, or verifying that a scheduled shift matches your contracted hours once the break is factored in.

A Worked Example for Overnight Shifts

Take a shift starting at 22:00 and ending at 06:00 the next morning. A naive end-minus-start subtraction gives a nonsensical negative number, since 06:00 comes numerically "before" 22:00 on a 24-hour clock. This calculator instead recognizes the shift crosses midnight and adds 24 hours to the end time first: 06:00 + 24:00 − 22:00 = 8 hours worked before any break. Subtract a 30-minute break from that and the shift comes to 7 hours 30 minutes — the figure you'd actually want on a timesheet.

FAQ

How does it handle overnight shifts?

If the end time is earlier than the start time, it assumes the shift ran past midnight and adds 24 hours before subtracting the break, instead of producing a negative result.

Should I enter one long break or several short ones?

Add them together and enter the total unpaid break time in minutes — the calculator only takes one break figure per shift.

Are the times remembered if I come back later?

Yes, the fields you type into are saved in your browser and will still be filled in next time you open this page — click Calculate Hours again to refresh the result.

Can you show a worked example for an overnight shift?

A shift starting at 22:00 and ending at 06:00 the next morning spans 8 hours once midnight-crossing is accounted for (06:00 + 24:00 − 22:00). Subtract a 30-minute break and the result is 7 hours 30 minutes worked — instead of the nonsensical negative number a plain end-minus-start subtraction would produce.