China break-time math separates paid work breaks from unpaid meal time. Everhour keeps approved timesheets ready for review.
Enter your daily hours and rate to instantly calculate total hours, regular pay, and any overtime — no spreadsheet needed.
The calculator gives you the number — Everhour takes it from there.
One click and you're timing. Start a timer, add an entry, edit the details. This is exactly how it feels in Everhour.
Set a budget, assign rates, and get alerted before you're over.
Measurement
Track your budget through time or costs
Every report you need — configured your way, always up to date.
Tracked hours flow straight into a polished invoice — no copy-paste, no manual math.
A break-time calculation answers a practical payroll question: how many hours from a scheduled shift count as paid working time after meal or rest breaks are handled correctly. In China, the standard working-time system sets ordinary work at 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, so daily and weekly totals matter before any pay category is reviewed.
China's national Labor Law and State Council hours regulation do not specify one universal meal-break or rest-break duration for ordinary adult employees. An ILO working-time review describes meal and rest breaks as generally starting after 4 hours of work, lasting about 1 to 2 hours depending on the job, with at least 30 minutes excluded from working time.
Use this structure for a single shift: shift span minus unpaid meal or rest time equals paid working time. Short work breaks stay inside paid working time when your policy treats them as working time. The ILO review notes that some enterprises provide 20-minute morning and afternoon work breaks after about 2 hours of work, and those work breaks count as working time.
Assume an employee in China is scheduled from 09:00 to 18:00, a 9-hour span, at ¥45 per hour. The employee takes a 1-hour unpaid meal break and two paid 20-minute work breaks. Paid working time is 9 minus 1, or 8 hours. Straight-time pay for the shift is 8 times ¥45, which equals ¥360.
A break calculation becomes unreliable when all hours land in one bucket. China uses different pay categories: at least 150% of normal wages for extended working hours, 200% for rest-day work when compensatory leave is not arranged, and 300% for work on statutory holidays. Unpaid break time should be removed before those categories are totaled.
The same shift length can produce different pay results based on the day type. An 8-hour ordinary workday, an 8-hour rest-day shift without compensatory leave, and an 8-hour statutory-holiday shift do not carry the same wage treatment. Label the date, day type, paid breaks, unpaid breaks, and working hours before applying any premium rate.
A one-off calculation is enough when you need to check one shift, correct one timesheet line, or explain why a meal break reduced paid hours. The calculation should show the 24-hour start time, end time, unpaid break minutes, paid break minutes, and final paid working hours. Keep the legal category separate from the arithmetic.
A managed workflow is better when employees clock in and out every day, managers approve break records, or payroll needs locked weekly totals. Everhour Timesheets collect weekly project hours and working hours by person, then let managers approve, reject, partially approve, and lock submitted time before payroll or billing review.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
High Performer
G2
Summer 2026
Best Ease Of Use
Capterra
Summer 2026
Rated in the top time trackers across G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius — with consistent praise for ease of use, integrations, and support.
China's national Labor Law and State Council hours regulation set working-hour caps, weekly rest, holidays, and overtime rules, but they do not specify one universal meal-break or rest-break duration for ordinary adult employees. Workplace policy, contract terms, approved working-hour systems, and local practice determine the break rule used in a timesheet calculation.
Short work breaks should stay in paid working time when the workplace treats them as work breaks. The ILO working-time review of China notes that some enterprises provide 20-minute work breaks in the morning and afternoon after about 2 hours of work, and those work breaks count as working time.
Day-type labels protect the pay calculation. China's Labor Law requires at least 150% of normal wages for extended working hours, 200% for rest-day work when compensatory leave is not arranged, and 300% for work on statutory holidays. Break-adjusted hours need the correct ordinary, rest-day, or holiday category before pay is calculated.
An unpaid meal or rest break reduces the paid working hours used in the overtime review when it is excluded from working time. The break record should show the shift span and the unpaid break separately. China also limits overtime after consultation, generally to 1 hour per day, with a 3-hour daily and 36-hour monthly maximum for special reasons.
China's State Council regulation and official workforce guidance state that the standard system is 40 hours per week. The Labor Law text still refers to an average cap of 44 hours per week, so payroll review should follow the applicable current framework and any approved irregular or comprehensive working-hour arrangement for the worker category.
Everhour Timesheets collect weekly project hours and working hours by person, so managers can review submitted time before payroll, billing, or reporting. Managers can approve, reject, partially approve, and lock submitted time, which gives the break-adjusted total a clear approval trail.
Track daily working hours, submit weekly timesheets, and approve or lock corrected entries before payroll review. Everhour keeps approved work-hour records organized for billing and payroll handoff.
14-day free trial · No credit card · Cancel anytime
