Net Hours

Net hours are the hours you actually worked — your total shift time minus unpaid breaks. This is what you get paid for.

Why it matters

Your paycheck is based on net hours, not gross hours. If you work an 8.5-hour shift and take a 30-minute unpaid meal break, your net hours are 8.0 — that's what shows up on your pay statement. Understanding the difference prevents confusion when your pay doesn't match the total time you were at work.

How it works

FabWise calculates net hours with a simple formula:

Gross hours (shift start to shift end) minus unpaid break time = net hours worked

Component	What it means	Example
Gross hours	Total time from when you started to when you ended your shift	8:00 AM to 4:30 PM = 8.5 hours
Unpaid break time	Meal breaks + personal time (not deducted from pay if under 20 min)	30-min meal break = 0.5 hours
Net hours	What you're paid for	8.5 - 0.5 = 8.0 hours

What counts as unpaid?

Break type	Paid or unpaid?	Deducted from net hours?
Meal break (30 min)	Unpaid	Yes — deducted
Personal time	Unpaid	Yes — deducted

Under the FLSA, bona fide meal periods (30 minutes or more, relieved of duties) are unpaid and ARE deducted.

Rounding affects net hours too

Your clock times are rounded before net hours are calculated. If you started at 7:53 (rounds to 8:00) and ended at 4:08 (rounds to 4:15), your gross hours are 8.25 — not 8 hours and 15 minutes of raw clock time. The rounding happens first, then breaks are deducted.

Net hours and overtime

Net hours are what count toward the 40-hour weekly overtime threshold. If you work five 8.5-hour shifts with 30-minute meal breaks each, your weekly net hours are 40.0 (5 × 8.0) — right at the threshold, no overtime.

But if you skip lunch one day, that day's net hours become 8.5 instead of 8.0. Your weekly total is 40.5 — and that extra 30 minutes is overtime at 1.5x your regular rate.

This is why tracking breaks matters even when they're not legally required.

Where to find it

Workers

Workstation > My Shifts: each shift shows your net hours
Kiosk: your shift card shows gross time during the shift; net hours appear after completion

Supervisors

Admin > Shift Detail > Time Summary: shows Duration (gross), Break, and Net Hours
Admin > Payroll Report: net hours per worker per pay period

What you'll see

On the shift detail Time Summary

	Value
Start	8:00 AM
End	4:30 PM
Duration	8.5h
Break	0.5h
Net Hours	8.0h

Duration is your gross time. Break is your total unpaid break time. Net Hours is what you're paid for.

On your pay statement

Your net hours for each shift are totaled across the pay period. The pay statement shows:
- Straight time hours (net hours up to the overtime threshold)
- Overtime hours (net hours beyond 40 in the workweek)

What to do

Workers: Check your net hours on each shift to make sure your breaks were recorded correctly. If your net hours seem wrong, check the Break Summary — a missing or extra break changes the number.

Supervisors: When reviewing a shift, net hours is the number that matters for pay. If it looks off, check the breaks — an untaken meal break means higher net hours. A long personal time means lower net hours.

Common questions

Q: Why are my net hours different from the time I was at work?
A: Unpaid breaks are deducted. If you were at work for 8.5 hours but took a 30-minute meal break, your net hours are 8.0. The 30 minutes you were on break are not compensable time.

Q: I didn't take a break but my net hours are lower than expected.
A: Check if personal time was recorded. Even a short personal time break is deducted from your net hours.

Q: My net hours show 7.75 but I worked a full 8-hour shift. What happened?
A: Most likely a 15-minute timing difference. Check the Time Summary — did rounding change your start or end time? A shift from 8:08 (rounds to 8:15) to 4:00 is 7.75 gross hours, and if no break was taken, 7.75 net hours.

[Time Rounding](time-rounding.md)
[Overtime](overtime.md)
[Breaks](../kiosk/breaks.md)
[Shift Detail](../admin/shift-detail.md)

Last updated: 2026-03-27