Split Shift Calculator
Add up two work periods in one day and see the unpaid gap between them.
A split shift is when your day is broken into two separate work periods with a long unpaid gap in the middle — common in hospitality, care work, transport, and retail. Enter the start and end of each block and this calculator totals the time you actually worked, shows the gap between shifts, and gives you the decimal hours payroll expects. The break in the middle is not counted as worked time.
How this calculation works
- 01Convert each shift’s start and end into minutes and subtract to get that shift’s length.
- 02Add the two shift lengths together for the total time actually worked.
- 03Measure the gap from the end of the first shift to the start of the second — that unpaid stretch is shown separately, not added to your hours.
- 04Divide the worked minutes by 60 for decimal hours.
- —Only time inside a shift counts — the gap between the two shifts is unpaid and excluded from the total.
- —A shift that ends earlier than it starts is treated as crossing midnight (e.g. 21:00 → 01:00 is 4 hours).
- —Decimal hours round to two places (7h 30m = 7.50) to match payroll exports.
- —If the second shift starts before the first ends, the gap is shown as zero rather than a negative value.
Worked examples
09:00–13:00, then 17:00–21:00
8h 00m worked (8.00 decimal), 4h 00m unpaid gap
06:30–10:00, then 16:00–19:30
7h 00m worked (7.00 decimal), 6h 00m unpaid gap
11:00–14:15, then 18:45–22:00
6h 30m worked (6.50 decimal), 4h 30m unpaid gap
Frequently asked questions
- How do you calculate hours for a split shift?
- Work out the length of each shift separately, then add them together — the unpaid gap in the middle is not counted. For example, 09:00–13:00 plus 17:00–21:00 is 4 + 4 = 8 hours worked, with a 4-hour gap in between. This calculator does both parts for you.
- Is the gap between two shifts paid?
- Usually not — that is what makes it a split shift rather than a paid break. The calculator shows the gap separately so you can see it, but it is excluded from the total worked hours. Some regions require a split-shift premium; check your local rules.
- Can a split shift cross midnight?
- Yes. If a shift’s end time is earlier than its start time — like 21:00 to 01:00 — the calculator assumes it crossed midnight and counts it as 4 hours rather than a negative number.
- Can InstaClock track split shifts automatically?
- Yes. Start a timer for each block as you work and InstaClock records both periods, keeps the daily and weekly totals, and shows exactly where the day went — no adding two shifts together by hand.
Stop calculating. Start tracking.
InstaClock keeps your hours, weekly totals, and visual reports running automatically — no start-and-end-time arithmetic required.
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