Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Subtract unpaid break time from a shift to find net paid hours.
7.50
This calculator subtracts unpaid break time from a shift's gross duration to find net paid hours -- and shows what percentage of the shift the break consumed, useful for checking a shift against a minimum-break-time labor requirement.
Enter your shift length (hours and minutes) and your unpaid break length (minutes). The result shows net paid hours and the break's share of the total shift.
Net paid minutes = gross shift minutes - unpaid break minutes. Break percent of shift = (break minutes / gross shift minutes) x 100.
An 8-hour shift with a 30-minute unpaid break: 7.5 net paid hours (the break is 6.25% of the shift).
For a full day's clock in/out punches split around a break instead of a single gross duration, see the Time Card Calculator. For payroll-focused lunch deduction with an hourly rate, use the Lunch Break Deduction Calculator.
Enter the shift length as hours and minutes, measured from clock in to clock out, then enter the total unpaid break time in minutes. If you took two unpaid breaks, add their minutes together first. The result shows net paid time in hours, along with gross minutes and net minutes, and the percentage of the shift the break took up. Enter only unpaid time, since a paid break should stay in your paid hours.
A hypothetical shift runs 9 hours 15 minutes, with a 45-minute unpaid meal break. Gross minutes are 555. Subtracting 45 leaves 510 net minutes, which is 8.5 paid hours. The break is 45 divided by 555, or about 8.1 percent of the shift. If the same shift had two unpaid breaks of 30 and 15 minutes, you would type 45 and get the same answer. Try adjusting the break length to see how much paid time each extra 15 minutes costs you.
The break percentage tells you how much of the shift was unpaid. It is helpful for comparing schedules, checking how a schedule looks when you are considering a job, or spotting a shift where the unpaid portion is larger than expected. It is not a legal measure. Rules about required meal or rest breaks, minimum lengths, and whether a break must be paid depend on your state or country, the type of work, and your age. Confirm the requirements with your state labor agency or the US Department of Labor if you are in the United States, instead of relying on any percentage.
If the break is longer than the shift, net hours show as zero instead of a negative number, which signals an entry mistake. If the shift length is zero, the break percentage is shown as zero to avoid dividing by zero. Net hours are a decimal, so a result of 7.5 means seven and a half hours, or 7 hours 30 minutes.
No -- only enter unpaid break time here; a paid break (common for short breaks under 20 minutes in many jurisdictions) shouldn't be subtracted from paid hours.
The result is clamped at zero net hours rather than going negative.
No -- this shows net paid hours only. Multiply the result by your hourly rate separately, or use the Lunch Break Deduction Calculator, which includes a pay figure.
Minutes. Thirty minutes is entered as 30. If you have several unpaid breaks, add their minutes together first.
Net paid hours are shown as zero rather than a negative value. Check whether the break or shift length was entered incorrectly.
No. Break rules vary by location and job, so check with your labor agency or employer for the requirements that apply to you.
Reference: U.S. Department of Labor