Working Hours and Breaks Log

Who this is for

Your own record of the hours you worked. Each day takes the start and finish, the hours between them, the break you took and where you were; the net hours are worked out and totalled, so a pay query or a pattern of long days has figures behind it.

Employees who want their own copy of their hours rather than only the employer's, hourly-paid and shift staff, and anyone splitting the week between home and office.

What this helps you track

• Hours worked each day, net of the break you took
• Start and finish times as well as the figure, so a day can be reconstructed
• Where you worked — office, home, site or elsewhere
• The total for the period and the average day
• A record in your own hand to set beside a payslip or a timesheet

How to use it

1. Write your name, your employer and the period the sheet covers at the top.
2. Each day, write the start and finish times, the hours between them as a decimal (7.5, not 7:30) and the break in minutes.
3. Choose where you worked from the list and note anything unusual — a late finish, a call-out, a half day.
4. The net hours fill in on screen and in the workbook by taking the break off the hours; on paper, do the subtraction in the column.
5. Total the period at the foot and compare it with your contract, your payslip or the employer's timesheet.
6. Start a new sheet each week, fortnight or month, whichever your pay runs in.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Is there a maximum I can work?

Working time rules differ by country and by contract, and this sheet states none. It records what you actually worked; whether that is within the rules where you are is something to check with your contract, your employer or the guidance for your country.

Why write hours as a decimal?

So the break can be subtracted and the column totalled. A quarter of an hour is 0.25, half an hour 0.5, three quarters 0.75.

Should the break be paid or unpaid?

That is set by your contract. The sheet takes the break off the hours so the net figure is time actually worked; if breaks are paid where you work, enter zero in the break column.

How is this different from the employee time sheet?

The employee time sheet is the employer's weekly form, signed by both sides. This is your own running log, kept for you, over whatever period you choose.