How to use the chart with a time card
For one day: subtract the unpaid break, then convert what is left. In at 7:00 AM and out at 3:50 PM with a 30-minute lunch is 8 hours 50 minutes − 30 minutes = 8:20. The chart gives 20 minutes = 0.33, so the day is 8.33 hours.
For a week: add up the hours and minutes first and convert the total once, so the small roundings don’t add up. Three days of 8:20 are 24 hours 60 minutes = 25:00, exactly 25.00 hours; adding 8.33 three times gives 24.99.
Rounding: the chart rounds to 2 decimals, as most timesheets do; 20 minutes is really 0.333… hours. Some employers also round each punch to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth or quarter hour. With a quarter hour, 7:07 counts as 7:00 and 7:08 as 7:15. Your pay stub or employer can tell you which rounding is used; this chart only converts.
Frequently asked questions
Why is 20 minutes 0.33 hours and not 0.20?
Because an hour has 60 minutes, not 100. 20 minutes is 20 ÷ 60 = a third of an hour, 0.333…, written 0.33. Reading 8:20 as 8.20 hours would count 8 hours 12 minutes (0.20 × 60 = 12) instead of 8 hours 20 minutes.
How do I convert decimal hours back to hours and minutes?
Keep the whole hours and multiply the decimal part by 60. 7.75 hours is 7 hours and 0.75 × 60 = 45 minutes, 7:45. 6.4 hours is 6 hours and 0.4 × 60 = 24 minutes, 6:24.
What is the 7-minute rule?
It is rounding to the nearest quarter hour: 1 to 7 minutes past a quarter hour are rounded down, 8 to 14 minutes are rounded up. Under federal rules an employer may round punches to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth or quarter hour only if, over time, employees are still paid for all the time they actually work (29 C.F.R. § 785.48(b)); some states are stricter. This is general information, not payroll or legal advice.