Calculating your hours worked is straightforward once you know the Work Hours formula and what each input means. This guide explains the method in plain language, walks through a manual calculation, and gives worked examples you can follow — then you can do it instantly with the Work Hours Calculator.
What is Work Hours?
The Work Hours calculation tells you your hours worked from a few simple inputs. The figure you are solving for here is the hours worked.
The Work Hours formula
The core formula is:
Hours worked = (End time (24h) - Start time (24h, e.g. 9.5 = 9:30)) - Break ÷ 60Here is what each input means:
- Start time (24h, e.g. 9.5 = 9:30) — a number. Example: 9.
- End time (24h) — a number. Example: 17.5.
- Break — a value measured in minutes. Example: 30 minutes.
How to calculate it step by step
- Write down the start time (24h, e.g. 9.5 = 9:30) (for example, 9).
- Write down the end time (24h) (for example, 17.5).
- Write down the break (for example, 30 minutes).
- Apply the formula above to get your hours worked.
- Double-check the result with the Work Hours Calculator.
Worked examples
Example 1
| Input / Output | Value |
|---|---|
| Start time (24h, e.g. 9.5 = 9:30) | 9 |
| End time (24h) | 17.5 |
| Break | 30 minutes |
| Hours worked | 8.00 |
| Minutes worked | 480 |
With start time (24h, e.g. 9.5 = 9:30) of 9, end time (24h) of 17.5 and break of 30 minutes, the hours worked works out to 8.00.
Example 2
With start time (24h, e.g. 9.5 = 9:30) of 18, end time (24h) of 17.5 and break of 30 minutes, the hours worked works out to -1.00.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours worked | -1.00 |
| Minutes worked | -60 |
Example 3
With start time (24h, e.g. 9.5 = 9:30) of 4.5, end time (24h) of 17.5 and break of 30 minutes, the hours worked works out to 12.50.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours worked | 12.50 |
| Minutes worked | 750 |
Tips for an accurate result
- Keep your units consistent — mixing, say, months with years or grams with kilograms is the most common source of error.
- Round only at the very end. Rounding inputs early can shift the final answer noticeably.
- Re-run the numbers whenever an input changes, rather than estimating from an old result.
Prefer not to do the maths by hand? — the Work Hours Calculator does it instantly, for free, with the formula and a worked example built in.
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