For your own hours & payslip records
Check the shift.
Then check the period.
A shift can be recorded correctly and still appear in a different pay period than you expected. Before comparing totals, match the dates, break intervals and payroll rules.
An ordinary night: 22:15 to 06:45
For this example, the shift ends the following morning in the same time zone, with no change in UTC offset. There is one chosen unpaid break, from 00:30 to 01:00. We assume a fictional flat hourly rate of $18, no overtime or night premium, and $12 of separately recorded tips for the whole shift.
22:15 → next day 06:45 = 510 elapsed minutes
510 − 30 unpaid minutes = 480 paid minutes
480 ÷ 60 = 8 hours
8 × $18 = $144 estimated gross wages
$144 + $12 tips = $156 wages plus recorded tips
$156 is not take-home pay. It does not account for tax, deductions, tip rules, reimbursements or other payroll items. Keep the $144 wage estimate and $12 tips separate so you can compare the same categories later.
Do not reuse the clock subtraction across a daylight-saving change. With these same clock labels, a forward one-hour offset change would mean 450 elapsed minutes before the break; a backward change would mean 570. Travel between time zones creates another reason to record dates, zones and actual elapsed time explicitly.
If a payroll period ends at midnight
Assume, only for this worksheet, that payroll splits the work at a midnight cutoff. The time before midnight is 105 minutes; after midnight it is 405 minutes. Our chosen 00:30–01:00 unpaid break belongs entirely after the cutoff.
| Part of shift | Elapsed minutes | Unpaid minutes | Paid hours | Gross wages at $18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:15–00:00 | 105 | 0 | 1.75 | $31.50 |
| 00:00–06:45 | 405 | 30 | 6.25 | $112.50 |
| Complete shift | 510 | 30 | 8.00 | $144.00 |
Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen, or print this page using your browser.
A break duration alone is not enough to split the hours. If the same 30-minute break were 23:45–00:15, the paid split would instead be 1.50 and 6.50 hours. If it fell entirely before midnight, the split would be 1.25 and 6.75. Each example totals eight hours, but assigns them differently.
Do not split the $12 tips proportionally just because the hours were split. Their payroll treatment needs its own rule. Nor should you assume midnight is your employer’s cutoff: check the actual period, time zone, start-date convention and approval deadline.
Compare gross with gross
- Match the reporting interval. Write the actual cutoff, including time and zone, and whether the end is included. A payslip paid this Friday may cover an earlier interval.
- Check the records included. Look for missing or duplicate shifts, the saved rate, unpaid breaks and pending timesheet approval. Separate genuinely changed work from a correction to an entry.
- Keep pay categories separate. Wages, tips, premiums, reimbursements, tax and deductions are not interchangeable. A personal estimate is not a legal entitlement or a payroll calculation.
- Use the stated precision rule. Seven hours twenty minutes is 7 + 20/60 hours. At $18, that is $132. Rounding the hours to 7.33 before multiplying gives $131.94. Do not invent a universal rounding rule; check the policy that actually applies.
- Ask about a specific difference. “Which pay period includes this shift?” is more useful than assuming that every difference proves an underpayment.
The UK’s Acas wage-checking guidance recommends checking the period covered, hours, rates, approval process and submission deadlines, alongside the payslip and employment terms. That is a UK source, not a statement of the rules in every country. For an unresolved issue, use an appropriate local payroll adviser, union or employment authority.
Keep a reconciliation note
Copy this into a private note or spreadsheet. No account, email or app is required. Do not post your payslip, employer details or personal records publicly.
Record reference / shift date: Start: date, time, time zone and UTC offset End: date, time, time zone and UTC offset Actual elapsed minutes: Unpaid break START and END / total minutes: Paid minutes / decimal hours: Rate snapshot and currency: Separate tips / premium / other items: Payroll period START and END / cutoff zone: Whole-shift or split-at-cutoff convention: Approval status / submission deadline: Hours allocated to THIS period, manually checked: Estimated gross WAGES: Reported gross WAGES for the same scope: Tips included or excluded on BOTH sides: Difference to ask about / explanation received: Correction, reason and date: