Start with the time record, not an assumed break deduction
For an 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM shift, count 8 hours 30 minutes, or 510 minutes, from start to finish. If you took a 30-minute unpaid meal break, subtract 30: 510 − 30 = 480 paid minutes. Divide by 60 to get 8.00 decimal hours. The Canadian calculator starts with zero break minutes; enter the actual unpaid time yourself.
Use the Canadian Work Hours Calculator to check one shift. This is a time calculation, not a check of whether a break was provided at the correct time or whether an employment standard was met.
Keep paid rest time separate from unpaid lunch
Suppose the same shift includes a 30-minute unpaid lunch and a 15-minute paid rest break. Deduct only the 30 unpaid minutes. The paid interval is already inside the 8:30 AM–5:00 PM span.
| Break arrangement | Enter unpaid minutes | Paid total |
|---|---|---|
| 30-minute unpaid lunch | 30 | 8h 00m / 8.00 hours |
| Unpaid lunch plus a 15-minute paid break | 30 | 8h 00m / 8.00 hours |
| The whole 30-minute lunch is paid | 0, or 30 with Paid break selected | 8h 30m / 8.50 hours |
For mixed paid and unpaid breaks, enter just the unpaid minutes with Paid break unticked. Do not enter 45 unpaid minutes for the second row, and do not select Paid break for a partly unpaid total. Confirm the paid status of each interval from the applicable standards and your employment arrangement.
Federal and provincial standards are different starting points
First identify the employment standards that cover your work. The Government of Canada’s workplace-jurisdiction guide lists federally regulated industries and directs people outside those industries to their province or territory of work. Do not assume that a federal break provision is a rule for every Canadian workplace.
Where the federal break provisions apply
For employees covered by these provisions, the federal breaks and rest-period guidance describes a break of at least 30 unpaid minutes within each five-hour period of consecutive work. Exclusions, exemptions, modifications and exceptional situations can apply. The guidance also says the break must be compensated if the employer requires the employee to remain at their disposal during it. Read the source for its scope and exceptions.
For provincial or territorial employment standards
Use the relevant government’s guidance rather than carrying the federal description across jurisdictions. For example, Alberta’s hours of work and rest guide sets out its own coverage, break arrangements and exceptions. It is an Alberta reference, not a rule for other provinces or territories. The federal jurisdiction page above provides a directory of regional employment-standards resources.
Do not prefill a deduction just because a break entitlement exists. Record what happened, identify which intervals are unpaid, and resolve any entitlement or pay-status question separately. This calculator does not decide legal coverage.
Official sources checked 22 October 2026.
Overnight example: 11:00 PM to 7:15 AM
Count 60 minutes before midnight and 435 minutes after midnight: 495 minutes in all. Subtract a 30-minute unpaid break to get 465 minutes, or 7 hours 45 minutes / 7.75 decimal hours. In 24-hour notation, enter 23:00 to 07:15. An earlier end time means the next day; you do not need to add a second entry just for midnight.
The tool uses clock times without a time zone or daylight-saving adjustment. If the clock changes during the shift, check actual elapsed time separately. On a weekly sheet, the whole overnight shift belongs to its start date; check that convention against your payroll period.
Reconcile daily minutes before adding the week
Four of the 8-hour paid shifts above give 32 hours. A Friday entry from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM with 15 unpaid minutes gives 375 minutes, or 6 hours 15 minutes. Together they total 2,295 minutes: 38 hours 15 minutes / 38.25 decimal hours. This is an example schedule, not a standard Canadian working week.
Enter the dates and breaks in the Canadian Timesheet Calculator, then review its daily breakdown. Keep exact minutes while adding; summing already rounded daily decimals can introduce a difference. If you are checking a decimal total from a pay record, use the Canadian decimal-hours converter. A value of 8.40 means 8 hours 24 minutes, not 8 hours 40 minutes.
At a chosen flat rate of CAD 25 per hour, 38.25 × 25 = CAD 956.25 gross. This example assumes no overtime adjustment and excludes deductions. The optional weekly threshold does not implement every daily, averaging or other pay arrangement; it is not a legal eligibility or take-home pay calculation.
Before sending your hours to payroll
- Check AM/PM, the shift’s start date and the first date of the pay period.
- Deduct only unpaid time; avoid counting a split-shift gap twice.
- Compare minutes against the original record before applying a rounding policy.
- Keep break entitlement, paid status and the arithmetic as separate checks.
- Review the saved draft or exported CSV before sharing it; no account is needed.