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How to Track Work Hours and Calculate Pay
Published Apr 17, 2026
Accurate time tracking protects both employees (ensuring correct pay) and employers (payroll compliance, project costing). This guide covers the mechanics of time calculation and pay computation.
Calculating Hours Worked
For a single shift:
Hours worked = End time − Start time − Unpaid breaks
Example: Start 8:45am, end 5:30pm, 30-minute unpaid lunch:
Total clock time = 8h 45min
Less break = 30 min
Hours worked = 8h 15min = 8.25 hours
Converting minutes to decimal hours:
Decimal hours = Hours + (Minutes ÷ 60)
8h 15min = 8 + 15/60 = 8.25 hours
Calculating Daily and Weekly Pay
Daily pay = Hours worked × Hourly rate
Weekly pay = Sum of all daily hours × Hourly rate
Example: 38.75 hours at £14.50/hour:
Weekly pay = 38.75 × 14.50 = £561.88
Overtime Rules
Overtime pay rules vary by country and employment contract. Common structures:
| Hours per week | Pay rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 40 | Regular rate (1× ) |
| 40–48 | Time and a half (1.5×) — common in US |
| Above 48 | Double time (2×) — depends on contract |
UK: The Working Time Regulations cap average weekly hours at 48 (averaged over 17 weeks) unless the worker opts out. There is no statutory legal right to enhanced overtime pay — it depends on your contract.
US: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires 1.5× for hours over 40/week for covered non-exempt employees.
Overtime example: 46 hours worked, £15/hour, first 40 at regular pay, 6 at 1.5×:
Regular pay = 40 × 15 = £600
Overtime pay = 6 × 15 × 1.5 = £135
Total = £735
Hourly Rate from Annual Salary
Hourly rate = Annual salary ÷ (Hours per week × Weeks per year)
Standard (52 weeks, 37.5 hrs/week):
£42,000 ÷ (37.5 × 52) = £42,000 ÷ 1,950 = £21.54/hour
Exclude holidays if you prefer to calculate based on working days only (typically 228 working days in the UK).
Tracking Methods
| Method | Best for | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| Pen and paper timesheet | Simple fixed schedules | Medium |
| Spreadsheet | Self-employed, small teams | High if done diligently |
| Time-tracking app (Toggl, Clockify) | Freelancers, project work | High |
| Biometric/access card system | Large organisations | Very high |
Best practice: Log hours at the end of each day rather than at week's end — memory is unreliable.
Rounding Rules
Some employers round shift times to the nearest 5 or 15 minutes. Under most labour laws, rounding must be applied neutrally — it must benefit workers as often as employers (it cannot systematically short-change employees).
Annual Leave and Bank Holidays
Employees on hourly contracts accrue holiday. In the UK, the minimum is 5.6 weeks (28 days for a 5-day week employee). For part-time or irregular hours:
Leave entitlement = 12.07% × Total hours worked
(5.6 weeks ÷ 46.4 working weeks = 12.07%)
Use the Work Hours Calculator to total any combination of daily start/end times, subtract breaks, and see weekly and monthly totals.