My security guard works a 24-hour shift from 08:00 to 08:00; why does the calculator refuse it?
Because the end time is the same as the start, and the calculator cannot tell whether you mean zero hours or twenty-four, so it refuses the row rather than guess. The longest row it accepts is one minute under 24 hours. Split the shift into two rows, for example 08:00 to 20:00 and 20:00 to 08:00, and put each break in the half it happened in.
Why the refusal is deliberate
The calculator reads two times, start and end, with no date involved in the arithmetic. If the end is earlier than the start it knows the shift crossed midnight. If the two are equal, there are two readings: someone clocked in and out at the same moment by mistake, or someone worked a full day. Guessing either way could add 24 hours of pay nobody earned, or take it from someone who did.
So you get a message saying the end time is the same as the start and a 0-hour and a 24-hour shift cannot be told apart, the row is highlighted, and the totals stay hidden until you fix it. That is safer than a wrong figure slipping through unnoticed.
How to enter the full shift
- Open the Timesheet calculator and fill the first row: start 08:00, end 20:00, and the breaks the guard took during the day in minutes, say 60.
- Add a second row with the same date: start 20:00, end 08:00, and the night breaks, say 60. This row gets a '+1 day' badge.
- Check the two rows: each is 11:00, and together 22:00 after the two hours of breaks.
- Add the hourly rate if you want the amount.
Where you split does not matter, as long as the two rows meet at the same time. 08:00 to 14:00 then 14:00 to 08:00 gives the same total. Pick a point that makes the breaks easy to place, such as a handover or a meal time.
Watch the overtime when you split
If you set a daily overtime threshold, the calculator applies it to each row on its own. With 8 hours, the first row at 11:00 has 3:00 over, the second at 11:00 has 3:00 over, so overtime is 6:00 out of 22:00. At 20 SAR with a 1.5 multiplier, regular pay is 320.00 SAR, overtime 180.00 SAR and the total 500.00 SAR.
Is that what the guard's contract says? Not necessarily. Long rotas are paid in many different ways, and some employers pay a flat amount per shift. The calculator knows none of that. If the contract treats the shift differently, leave the threshold empty, count the hours only, and apply the contract yourself.
Related cases
- A shift of 23 hours 59 minutes, 08:00 to 07:59, is accepted in one row, because the end is earlier than the start.
- Anything longer than 24 hours needs two or more rows, each under a day.
- Breaks go in minutes on the row where they happened, and a break longer than its row is refused.
Common questions
Do the two rows need different dates?
No. The date is only a label; you can put the shift's start date on both so it reads as one shift in the summary.
Why are there no totals after I typed 08:00 and 08:00?
The row has an error, and totals and downloads stay unavailable until every highlighted row is fixed.
Will the summary count the shift as two days?
The 'Days' figure is the number of rows counted, so it shows 2. The hours and pay are right.