What Counts As Hours Worked?
Hours worked is not the same as the hours you are away from home. This guide covers breaks, travel, training and on-call time, with the official rule for each.
Why The Answer Matters
Your pay and your overtime both depend on hours worked. If a block of time counts as work, you are paid for it and it counts toward the 40 hour overtime line.
The rules below are the US federal ones, which set a floor. Your state, contract or union agreement can give you more, and a few states give you much more.
In most disputes the question is control. If your employer requires you to be somewhere or do something, that time is usually work. If you are free to use the time for yourself, it usually is not.
Rest Breaks And Meal Breaks
A short rest break is part of the working day. A longer meal break is a different case, and it can be unpaid when you are fully off duty.
Working through lunch changes that. If you answer calls or watch a counter, the meal period becomes work time and should be in your hours.
Rest breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are paid and count as hours worked. Source: US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.18. Checked November 2026.
A bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more is not work time if you are completely relieved of duty. Source: US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.19. Checked November 2026.
To take an unpaid lunch off your day, use the time card calculator with lunch.
Travel Time
Travel is the most common source of confusion, because it covers three different cases. The first is the ordinary commute, the second is travel during the day and the third is a trip away from home.
A good test is whether you are on the clock for the benefit of the employer. Driving between two customers is. Driving from your front door to the office is not.
| Situation | Counts as work? |
|---|---|
| Home to your normal workplace and back | No |
| One job site to another during the workday | Yes |
| A trip away from home during your normal hours | Yes, including days off |
| Travel outside your normal hours as a passenger | Usually no |
Normal travel from home to work and back is not work time, even at a different site on a given day. Source: US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.35. Checked November 2026.
Travel from one job site to another during the workday is work time. Source: US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.38. Checked November 2026.
Travel away from home that cuts across your normal working hours is work time, including on days off. Time as a passenger outside regular hours is not counted. Source: US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.39. Checked November 2026.
On-Call And Waiting Time
On-call time is counted by how much it limits you. If you must stay at the workplace, you are working, even if nothing happens during the wait.
If you wait at home and can run errands or relax, the time is usually your own. Heavy limits, such as a very short response time, can move it back into work time.
Record the time you are called in. A call that takes 20 minutes and a drive to site is work from the moment you begin.
On-call time spent at the workplace, or so restricted that you cannot use it for yourself, counts as hours worked. Being on call at home, when you only need to be reachable, usually does not. Source: US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.17. Checked November 2026.
Training And Meetings
Required meetings and training are work. The exception is narrow, and all four conditions must be met at once.
A class you choose to take after hours for a skill your job does not need is not work time. Training your employer requires, or training that teaches you your own job, is.
Training time is not work time only if it is outside normal hours, voluntary, not related to your job, and you do no productive work. Source: US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.27. Checked November 2026.
Time That Does Not Count Toward Overtime
Paid leave is paid, but it is not hours worked. Vacation, sick leave and public holidays are not added to the 40 hours that trigger overtime.
Your time card should show worked hours and leave hours on separate lines, so both the pay and the overtime come out right.
Paid leave is not counted toward overtime, because federal rules only count hours actually worked. Source: US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 778.218 and 778.102. Checked November 2026.
See how the two are separated in the overtime calculator.
UK, Canada And Australia
Outside the US the details differ, but the idea is the same. Time at your employer's disposal is usually working time, and a commute usually is not.
In the UK, the rule for a meal break is this: 20 minutes if you work more than 6 hours. Paid only if your contract says so.
In federally regulated Canadian workplaces: 30 minutes every 5 hours in a row. Paid if you must stay available.
In Australia, meal breaks are set by your award or agreement.
In the UK, working time includes job-related training, travel that is part of the job, meals during business discussions and on-call time at your workplace. It does not include breaks when you are not working, such as lunch, or commuting to a fixed place of work. Source: GOV.UK, calculating your working hours. Checked November 2026.
How To Record Unclear Time
Notes and edits on the time card stay on your device. Export a PDF if you need to show a payroll team or an advisor.
- Write the start and end of any travel, call or training session on the day it happened.
- Add a note on the time card saying why it counts, such as a client site visit.
- Keep a copy of the schedule or message that required you to attend.
- If you are told to work off the clock, ask for the instruction in writing.
Questions People Ask
Does travel time count as hours worked?
It depends. Your normal commute does not count. Travel between job sites during the day does, and so does a trip away from home that cuts across your normal hours.
Is a 15 minute break paid?
Usually yes. Rest breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are paid and count as hours worked.
Does on-call time count as work?
It can. On-call time spent at the workplace, or so restricted that you cannot use it for yourself, counts as hours worked. Being on call at home, when you only need to be reachable, usually does not.
Do I get paid for training?
Usually yes. Required training, or training during work hours, is work time. Only voluntary training outside hours, unrelated to your job, is excluded.
Do holidays and vacation count toward overtime?
No. Paid time off is not hours worked, so it is not added to the weekly overtime threshold. It is still paid at your normal rate.
Is a lunch break counted as hours worked?
Not if it is a real, unpaid meal break. In the US: Not required. A meal break of 30 minutes or more is unpaid if you are fully off duty.
Sources
- US Dept. of Labor, hours worked fact sheet
- US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.17
- US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.27
- US Dept. of Labor, 29 CFR 785.35
- GOV.UK, calculating your working hours
- California DIR (meal and rest periods)
Written and checked by the countmyworkhours.com team. How we calculate