What are decimal hours?
Hours written as a decimal number for payroll (7.75) instead of hours and minutes (7:45).
Divide the minutes by 60: 15 minutes = 0.25, 30 = 0.5, 45 = 0.75, 6 minutes = 0.1. Payroll multiplies decimal hours by the hourly rate; multiplying 7.45 (a misread 7:45) by the rate underpays by 18 minutes.
Totalling a week is safest in minutes, converting to decimal only at the end, so rounding errors do not pile up.
Example: 7:45 = 7 + 45/60 = 7.75 h; at $18/h that is $139.50, not $134.10.
Related terms
- Time clock roundingRecording clock-in and clock-out times to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour, allowed federally only if it averages out fairly over time.
- Overtime (federal)For non-exempt employees, pay of at least one and a half times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
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