Calculate work shift hours with breaks and overnight time
Find payable hours when a shift crosses midnight, and separate unpaid breaks from the time on site.
How to calculate it
Record start and end times with dates if possible. Elapsed hours equal end timestamp minus start timestamp. If only clock times are available and the end is earlier than the start, add one day only when the shift actually crosses midnight. Subtract unpaid breaks; paid breaks remain in payable time. If there are several breaks, add their durations before subtracting. Convert minutes to a decimal hour by dividing by 60, not by writing minutes after a decimal point.
Worked example
A shift from 21:30 to 06:15 the next day lasts 8 hours 45 minutes. Subtract a 45-minute unpaid meal break and payable time is 8 hours, or 8.00 decimal hours. Another shift from 08:00 to 16:30 with a 30-minute unpaid break is also 8 hours. A 7-hour-30-minute shift is 7.5 hours, not 7.30 hours. Keep the dated times if the shift spans more than one midnight.
What can change the result
Overtime thresholds, paid meal periods, rounding rules, holidays and night premiums depend on an employment agreement and local law. The arithmetic cannot decide which hours qualify for a premium. Review a timesheet before multiplying by a pay rate, and do not subtract a break that was actually paid.
Use the calculators and keep reading
Use the time duration calculator for elapsed time and the overtime pay calculator after confirming which hours are eligible. The linked business-days guide helps with schedule dates but does not replace your contractual overtime rules.
Try the time duration, overtime pay calculator and read this related article for the context and assumptions.