How to Calculate Weekly Work Hours
Calculating weekly work hours is easiest when you work out each shift first, remove unpaid break time, and then add the net hours for all days worked.
Practical timekeeping guide · ShiftHours
1. Work out each shift
Find the time between clock-in and clock-out. If you work from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, the span is 8 hours and 30 minutes before breaks.
2. Subtract unpaid breaks
If that shift includes a 30-minute unpaid lunch, subtract 30 minutes from 8 hours 30 minutes. The net work time is 8 hours. Paid breaks usually remain part of the paid time total, but follow your workplace policy.
3. Add the net time for each day
Convert each shift to minutes if that makes the arithmetic easier. Add the daily net minutes, then divide by 60 to express the total as hours and minutes. For example, five 8-hour days add up to 40 hours.
Example weekly timesheet
Suppose you work 8 net hours on Monday through Friday and 5 net hours on Saturday. Your total is 45 hours for the week. Whether any of those hours qualify for overtime depends on the rules that apply to your job and location.
Common mistakes to avoid
Do not subtract a paid break unless your workplace treats it as unpaid. Check whether a shift ends after midnight, and avoid rounding every day before adding the week. Keep the exact minutes until the final total whenever possible.
Use the free ShiftHours work hours calculator to subtract unpaid breaks and see your total in hours and decimal format.
Worked example: weekly total
Daily net totals of 8, 7.5, 8, 8, and 7.5 hours add up to 39 hours for the week. Add the net daily values after subtracting unpaid breaks from each shift.
Related resources
Open the work hours calculator How to calculate hours worked Convert minutes to decimal hours