Time Duration Calculator
Hours and minutes between two times, with unpaid breaks deducted — and a weekly total for your timesheet.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type here is uploaded, stored or logged.
Decimal hours versus hours and minutes
This catches people out on every payslip. Payroll runs on decimal hours, where the part after the point is a fraction of an hour — not minutes.
| Minutes | Decimal | Minutes | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0.08 | 35 | 0.58 |
| 10 | 0.17 | 40 | 0.67 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 45 | 0.75 |
| 20 | 0.33 | 50 | 0.83 |
| 25 | 0.42 | 55 | 0.92 |
| 30 | 0.50 | 60 | 1.00 |
So 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 on a payslip, not 7.45. Reading it as 7.45 undercounts you by 18 minutes a shift — about 1.5 hours a month on a five-day week.
Which breaks come off
The general rule is that unpaid rest breaks are not working time and are deducted, while paid breaks are not. Rules vary considerably:
- UK. Workers are entitled to a 20-minute uninterrupted break when working more than six hours. It need not be paid.
- EU. The Working Time Directive sets minimum daily and weekly rest; member states set the detail.
- US. Federal law requires no meal breaks at all, though many states do. Short breaks under 20 minutes generally must be paid.
- India, UAE, Australia and others each set their own thresholds.
Your contract may be more generous than the statutory minimum. Check it once, properly.
Overnight shifts and the midnight problem
Subtracting 22:00 from 06:00 gives −16 hours, which is why so many spreadsheets return nonsense for night shifts. The fix is to recognise the crossing and add 24 hours, giving 8. This tool does that automatically whenever the end time is earlier than the start.
One caveat it can't handle: on daylight-saving changeover nights a shift is genuinely 23 or 25 hours long. If you work those nights, check how your employer treats them, because practice varies.
Keeping a record that holds up
- Write it down the same day. A contemporaneous note carries far more weight than a reconstruction weeks later.
- Record actual times, not scheduled ones. If you started at 08:52 and finished at 17:41, that is what goes down.
- Note breaks separately, including ones you didn't get to take.
- Keep your own copy. Do not rely solely on a system your employer controls.
- Check every payslip against it. Errors are usually genuine, but they are only ever corrected if someone notices.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out hours between two times?
Convert both to minutes past midnight, subtract, then divide by 60. From 09:15 to 17:45: 555 minutes to 1065 minutes, a difference of 510 minutes, which is 8 hours 30 minutes. The tool does this and deducts your break.
Does it handle overnight shifts?
Yes. If the end time is earlier than the start time it assumes the shift crosses midnight and adds 24 hours. A 22:00–06:00 shift correctly returns 8 hours rather than a negative number.
Why does my payslip show 8.5 hours instead of 8:30?
Payroll systems use decimal hours, where the fraction is a proportion of an hour rather than minutes. 8 hours 30 minutes is 8.5 decimal hours; 8 hours 20 minutes is 8.33. Both formats are shown so you can check your timesheet against your payslip.
Should unpaid breaks be deducted?
In most jurisdictions an unpaid rest break is not working time, so it comes off the total. Paid breaks stay in. If you are unsure which yours is, check your contract — it materially affects a weekly total.
Is this a legally reliable record of hours?
No. It is a calculator, not a timekeeping system. For disputes about pay, keep your own contemporaneous record and check it against your employer's.