How to Calculate Your Work Hours
Maintaining accurate time logs is crucial for both employees and employers. To calculate your work hours manually, you subtract the start time from the end time and then deduct any unpaid breaks.
Understanding Overtime (OT)
In most regions, regular work weeks are capped at 40 hours. Any work performed beyond this threshold is typically considered overtime. Under federal labor laws such as the FLSA, overtime is usually paid at 1.5 times the regular hourly rate (often called "time and a half").
The Break Policy
Labor laws vary significantly by state and country regarding whether breaks should be paid or unpaid. Generally, short breaks (5–20 minutes) are considered part of the compensable workday, while longer meal periods (30+ minutes) are not.
Precision with Decimal Hours
Payroll systems rarely use "hours and minutes" format (e.g., 8:30). Instead, they convert minutes to decimal form. For example, 30 minutes is 0.5 hours. Our engine handles these conversions automatically to ensure your earnings reflect your true time on the clock.