Work, pay & shifts
Break Deduction Chart for Common Shift Lengths
For the most common shift lengths and break lengths, the working time left over can simply be looked up. These charts give the result for 4- to 12-hour shifts and breaks of 15 to 60 minutes, first in hours and minutes and then in decimal hours for timesheets.
Ready to try the tool this guide describes?
Reading the charts
Find the shift length in the first column and the total break time across the top. If a shift has more than one break, add them together first — two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch are 60 minutes. Values marked ≈ are rounded to 2 decimal places.
Hours and minutes after breaks
| Shift | 15 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 hours | 3:45 | 3:40 | 3:30 | 3:15 | 3:00 |
| 6 hours | 5:45 | 5:40 | 5:30 | 5:15 | 5:00 |
| 8 hours | 7:45 | 7:40 | 7:30 | 7:15 | 7:00 |
| 10 hours | 9:45 | 9:40 | 9:30 | 9:15 | 9:00 |
| 12 hours | 11:45 | 11:40 | 11:30 | 11:15 | 11:00 |
Decimal hours after breaks
| Shift | 15 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 hours | 3.75 | ≈ 3.67 | 3.5 | 3.25 | 3 |
| 6 hours | 5.75 | ≈ 5.67 | 5.5 | 5.25 | 5 |
| 8 hours | 7.75 | ≈ 7.67 | 7.5 | 7.25 | 7 |
| 10 hours | 9.75 | ≈ 9.67 | 9.5 | 9.25 | 9 |
| 12 hours | 11.75 | ≈ 11.67 | 11.5 | 11.25 | 11 |
Why the 20-minute column is rounded
Twenty minutes is a third of an hour, 0.3333… in decimal form, so every value in that column repeats forever and is rounded to 2 places. The other columns are quarters and halves of an hour and come out exactly.
Shifts that aren’t whole hours
For an 8.5-hour shift, take the 8-hour row and add 30 minutes, or 0.5: with a 30-minute break that is 7:30 + 0:30 = 8:00, or 8 hours. For anything less tidy, the Break Deduction Calculator does the subtraction directly.
Break Deduction Chart FAQ
- How many hours is an 8-hour shift with a 30-minute break?
- 7 hours 30 minutes, or 7.5 decimal hours.
- How many hours is a 10-hour shift minus a 45-minute break?
- 9 hours 15 minutes, or 9.25 decimal hours.
- What is a 6-hour shift minus 20 minutes in decimal hours?
- About 5.67 hours: 5 hours 40 minutes is 5.666… hours.
- Why are some chart values marked ≈?
- Because 20 minutes is a third of an hour, which has no exact decimal, so those values are rounded to 2 places.
- How do I use the chart when a shift has two breaks?
- Add the breaks first, then look up the total — 15 + 30 minutes uses the 45-minute column.
Related guides
- Subtract Lunch From HoursTake a lunch break off hours worked in hours and minutes or in decimals, with lunch lengths as decimals and the mistakes that change a total.
- Breaks on a Weekly TimesheetTake daily breaks off a weekly total in one step, handle days with no break or longer breaks, and check the result against daily entries.
Open the tool
Jump into Break Deduction Calculator when you are ready to process your files.
