SwiftShort answer
Weekly hours = Σ (clock-out − clock-in) − unpaid breaks. John's week of 7.5, 8.25, 6.75, 8.5 and 7.25 hours grosses 38.25; minus five 30-minute unpaid lunches (2.5), he is paid for 35.75 hours. A 42.00-hour week carries 2.0 overtime hours under the federal weekly-over-40 rule — but state daily-overtime rules can differ.
Scope and assumptions
Overtime rules vary by state, contract and exemption status; the federal FLSA weekly standard is a floor, not the whole picture. Confirm your employer's policy and state law. This page is informational and is not payroll or legal advice.
Every timesheet dispute I have helped untangle had the same root: someone added the clock times and forgot the breaks. The mechanics are simple — add each day's worked time, subtract unpaid breaks, and the total is your payable hours. Anything past 40 in the week is federally overtime for non-exempt employees.
Pick your situation
- Clock in/out elapsed time? → Time Duration guide
- Business days, not hours? → Work Days guide
- Meetings across time zones? → Time Zone guide
What is an hours calculator?
An hours calculator totals clock-in/clock-out times across a week, subtracts unpaid breaks, and flags the overtime slice. It also converts between h:mm and decimal hours so timesheets and payroll agree.
How to calculate work hours per week
Weekly hours = Σ (clock-out − clock-in) − unpaid breaks Overtime = hours above 40 in the workweek (federal standard)
Worked example: a weekly timesheet with an unpaid lunch break
John clocks in and out Monday through Friday:
| Day | In | Out | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 8:55 | 16:40 | 7.75 |
| Tuesday | 8:50 | 17:20 | 8.50 |
| Wednesday | 9:05 | 15:50 | 6.75 |
| Thursday | 8:45 | 17:25 | 8.67 |
| Friday | 8:50 | 16:10 | 7.33 |
Gross total: 7.75 + 8.50 + 6.75 + 8.67 + 7.33 = 39.00 hours. John takes a 30-minute unpaid lunch each day: 5 × 0.5 = 2.50 hours.
Paid hours = 39.00 − 2.50 = 36.50
Overtime over 40 hours
Under 40, so no federal overtime this week. The overtime version: shift Thursday to 19:05 (+1.67) and Friday to 18:10 (+2.0) and the gross climbs to 42.67, paid time to 40.17 — that extra 0.17 over 40 is the overtime slice, paid at 1.5× the regular rate.
Convert 7 hours 35 minutes to decimal (and is 95 minutes 1.95 hours?)
Payroll systems want decimals, timesheets want h:mm. The bridge is minutes ÷ 60:
| h:mm | Decimal | h:mm | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 h 35 m | 7.58 | 95 min | 1.58 |
| 8 h 15 m | 8.25 | 20 min | 0.33 |
| 6 h 45 m | 6.75 | 45 min | 0.75 |
The trap runs one direction only: 1.95 decimal hours is 1 h 57 min, not 1 h 95 min. Minutes never exceed 59.
The break rules that decide the total
- Unpaid meal breaks (typically 30+ minutes, fully relieved of duty) come out of the total.
- Paid short breaks (5–20 minutes) stay in.
- Rounding: many employers round to the nearest quarter hour; the policy must be neutral over time to be lawful.
The quarter-hour rounding rule
Many employers round clock times to the nearest quarter hour (some use six-minute tenths). The rule is only lawful if it averages out over time — it cannot systematically shave minutes from the employee.
Rounding John's clock-ins to the nearest quarter:
| Actual in | Rounds to | Drift |
|---|---|---|
| 8:07 | 8:00 | −7 min |
| 8:12 | 8:15 | +3 min |
| 8:23 | 8:15 | −8 min |
| 8:38 | 8:45 | +7 min |
| 8:49 | 8:45 | −4 min |
The drifts nearly cancel (−9 minutes over the week), which is what "neutral" means in practice. If your own rounding table drifts the same direction every week, that is a payroll problem worth raising — and the raw clock record is the evidence.
A week of clock times is one addition away from a timesheet total: use the Hours Calculator and timesheet tool to total any week. The complete guide covers how many hours you actually work in a year.
The timesheet habits that hide overtime
- Treating 0.75 decimal hours as 75 minutes.
- Subtracting a paid break.
- Ignoring state daily-overtime rules that trigger before 40 weekly hours.
- Letting a shift cross midnight without splitting it — the elapsed-time method handles that case (see Time Duration guide).
FAQ
Q: How do I add up hours and minutes for a week? Sum each day's worked time, then subtract unpaid breaks: 39.00 − 2.50 = 36.50 paid hours.
Q: When does overtime start? Federally, after 40 hours worked in a workweek for non-exempt employees; several states also require daily overtime.
Q: Do unpaid lunch breaks count as hours worked? No — a bona fide unpaid meal break (typically 30+ minutes, fully relieved of duty) is excluded from paid hours.
Q: How do I convert 7 h 35 min to decimal? Divide the minutes by 60: 35 ÷ 60 = 0.5833, so 7 h 35 min = 7.58 decimal hours.
Q: Is 95 minutes 1.95 hours? No — 95 ÷ 60 = 1.5833, so it is 1.58 decimal hours, or 1 h 35 min.
Q: How is overtime paid? Federally at 1.5× the regular rate for hours over 40 in the workweek; the slice above 40 is what gets the premium.
Q: Do paid 15-minute breaks count? Yes — short paid rest breaks count as hours worked and belong in the total.
Q: What if a shift crosses midnight? Split it at midnight and add the segments, or use the elapsed-time method.
Sources: US DOL FLSA overtime framework (dol.gov); decimal time conventions (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_time).
Disclaimer: Overtime rules vary by state, contract and exemption status; the federal FLSA weekly standard is a floor, not the whole picture. Confirm your employer's policy and state law. This page is informational and is not payroll or legal advice.