Work planning
Work hours calculator: subtract breaks and handle overnight shifts
A practical way to separate a full shift span from unpaid break time and estimate a weekly schedule.
Updated July 30, 2026 · 4 min read
Record the whole shift first
Begin with the scheduled start and end time. This gives the full time span, which is different from net work time whenever the schedule includes an unpaid break or another gap.
For example, 09:00 to 17:30 is 8 hours and 30 minutes. A 30-minute unpaid meal break reduces that planning estimate to 8 net hours.
Treat an overnight finish as the next day
When an end time is after midnight, it belongs to the next calendar day. A shift from 22:00 to 06:00 therefore has an 8-hour span before you subtract any break.
Mark the overnight setting before checking the result. Without it, the calculator has no way to distinguish a late finish from an end time that was entered earlier on the same day.
Use official records when the total matters
A calculator cannot determine whether a particular break is paid, whether a workplace rounds time, or how overtime is calculated. These details may change the payable total.
For a timesheet, salary, leave calculation, or compliance requirement, follow the relevant employer record, contract, and policy rather than relying on an online estimate alone.