In today’s society, there is a lot of confusion surrounding the difference between salary and wage. The two terms are often used interchangeably but have different meanings. Salary is what an employee is paid per month or week, while wage is the amount an employee earns in a given period. Wage typically refers to hourly pay, which can vary significantly based on experience and qualifications. In addition, salaries are considered fixed income, while wages are variable income.
What is Salary?
A salary is the regular payment by an employer to an employee for employment, either monthly or annually, but most typically monthly, especially to white-collar workers, managers, directors, and professionals.
Salary employees are paid a set sum each month. However, paid vacations, public holidays, healthcare insurance in countries lacking universal coverage, and other benefits boost their incomes.
Comparing what similar positions in the same region and industry are paid determines salaries. Most large employers have hierarchical pay rates and wage ranges.
In most nations, salaries are also determined by supply and demand – the number of job vacancies compared to the number of persons in the area who could fill that post.
What Determines the salary rate?
Tradition and law determine salaries and supply and demand (market factors). For example, in the U.S., market forces influence compensation levels, while in Japan, seniority, social structure, and tradition do.
Men tend to earn more than women. White employees’ average salaries are higher than those of other ethnic groups, even in nations where market forces dominate.
In 2007, women of all races earned 80% of men’s median wages, according to the BLS. Although the gender gap has narrowed since then, experts estimate ultimate equality won’t be attained for another 50 years.
No salary can be below the country’s minimum wage. For example, if the minimum wage is $10 per hour and the employee works 40 hours per week, their compensation cannot be less than $20,800 ($10 x 40 hours per week x 52 weeks in a year).
What is Wage?
Wage is the money an employee receives for their work. It can be in cash, kind, or a combination of both. Wage rates vary based on the country, occupation, company size and other factors.
Types of Wages
Minimum Wage
Most people are familiar with the term “minimum wage” when it comes to employee pay. It’s the least an employer can pay an employee per hour for work.
Even though the federal government sets the minimum wage at $7.25, most states have their own rates, and many of them are higher than the federal rate.
Living Wage
A living wage is the least amount of money an employer can give to an employee. The difference between living wage and minimum wage is that employers who pay living wage don’t have to follow the law like they do when they pay minimum wage. Check out these examples of jobs that may pay enough to live on:
- Receptionist
- Mail carrier
- Hairstylist
- Nanny
- Waiter
Prevailing Wage
A prevailing wage is a type of wage that is often used when the government contracts with a business from the outside. In this case, the U.S. Department of Labor has a lot of information that can help figure out how much contractual workers should be paid. This is important to know because the prevailing wage may be different in the state where a professional works for the government under a contract. The prevailing wage may be paid for these jobs: Civil Engineer, Urban Planner, Construction workers, etc
Tipped Wage
The tipped wage is the base wage that is paid to an employee who gets most of their pay from tips. A common labor law provision called a “tip credit” says that when tips and wages are added together, the employee must earn at least the state’s minimum wage or the employer must raise the wage to meet that threshold. This makes sure that everyone who works for tips gets at least the minimum wage, which is a lot more than the tipped minimum wage.
Fair Wages
A fair wage is a wage that employers should be willing to pay their workers. It looks at things like how much it costs to live in a certain area and how much a job usually pays. Fair wages are often somewhere between the minimum wage and the living wage. Check out these examples of jobs that usually pay fairly: House Keeper, Virtual Assistant etc
Difference between Salary and Wage
| Particulars | Salary | Wages |
| Paid to whom | Paid to white-collared employee | Paid to blue-collared employee |
| Fixed vs. variable income | fixed income | Variable Income |
| Exempt vs. non-exempt | Exempt | non-exempt |
| Overtime | Not eligible | Eligible |
| Benefits | Eligible for additional benefits | Much less likely to receive additional benefits |
| Pay schedule: | Receives paycheck on a set schedule | Does not receive a paycheck on a set schedule |
| Type of cost | Fixed | Variable |
| Basis of payment | Performance basis | Hourly Basis |
| Skills | For skilled people | For semi-skilled or unskilled |
| Employee position | Usually have a higher position and more responsibility | Usually have lower position and less responsibility |
| Nature of work | Administrative office work | Manufacturing process work |
Comparisons: Salary vs. Wage
Salary and wages are frequently synonymous, and their meanings are the same in many instances, but not always.
Pay does not fluctuate weekly or monthly. Annual salaries are calculated, split by twelve, and paid monthly. In certain nations, December pay is doubled; in these circumstances, the annual salary is divided by thirteen-and two-months income is included in the December payment.
In contrast, wages are based on the number of hours worked weekly, fortnightly, or month. Employers pay compensation on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, based on the number of hours performed. This is not the situation with salaries, as the monthly income of salaried employees remains constant.
Managers, for instance, are always compensated with a salary, never wages. Their regular monthly paycheck is unaffected by overtime work. Typically, production-line employees and other blue-collar workers receive overtime pay. Their ‘wages’ vary based on the hours they worked that week or month.
If an office worker’s annual compensation is $60,000, it is more common to state, “His salary is $60,000 per year” than “His wage is $60,000 per year.”
Salary employees do not need to track their hours as hourly workers do; they are not required to sign a time sheet.
Generally, salaried employees are compensated time and a half for every hour of overtime worked. On weekends and holidays, certain employers may pay double time. As a student, I worked at a gas station on Christmas Day and was paid four times my standard rate.
Pros of Salary
Set pay
You get paid the same amount every week, regardless of how many hours you work. Your take-home income will not be affected if you finish your assignment in 36 hours rather than 40 hours.
Prestigious
Salaried employment can provide a sense of better prestige or a more established career.
Benefits and perks
Salaried positions usually include health, dental, and vision insurance. They also offer benefits such as paid time off, which are unavailable in much hourly employment.
Flexibility
When you receive a paycheck, you have greater freedom in your workday, and you may be able to choose your hours. With a salary, you can, for example, take time off for appointments or family concerns.
Benefits of having an income
Having a salary makes budgeting easier. Because you know your exact take-home pay for each month, you can better organize your finances.
Higher salary
Salaried occupations typically pay more. You may earn a higher wage and have a more considerable net income due to advantages such as company-provided health insurance.
Opportunities for advancement:
Salaried positions are typically found in professional environments where you can enhance your career. Salaried employment comes with additional duties than hourly jobs.
Con’s of Salary
Salary is a critical factor in most people’s lives. It dictates what they can afford, how comfortable they are, and how much freedom they have. However, while there are benefits to having a high salary, there are also drawbacks. Here are four of the most common ones:
The reduced compensation will save money. Base salary packages may include other benefits. For example, the final payment may include health insurance or other uses. In the U.S., a $50,000 remuneration package might only pay the employee $35,000. And vice versa. A $75,000 salary might compensate for no perks. -Pay is based on equity, not complexity. Many businesses base wage offers on what other workers earn. Even if the team’s most complex role, equality considerations will lower the compensation offer.
Pros of Wages
The number of hours worked
One benefit of an hourly wage rate is that workers are paid for their hours.
For example, if a worker puts in 8 hours a day, he will get paid for the entire 8 hours, and if he puts in extra hours, he will get born more. This is because the employer does not have to pay the worker for hours he is not working, and the worker does not have to stay an additional hour or two just in case.
Changes in pay
If an employee who works for an hourly wage gets a higher wage rate somewhere else, they can move to that other place and make more money.
This is a benefit because a contract does not bind them, so they can quickly move to that other place where they can make more money working the same number of hours.
Extra pay for working overtime
Sometimes, a company must meet its deadlines quickly. In this case, the employer hires employees on a salary basis.
But if a worker is paid by the hour, and they have to work more hours to meet the deadline, they will get more money.
People who get paid by the hour can even ask their bosses for more overtime.
A Definite Budget
They can pay for their monthly bills, but they can’t spend more than that, even if they work more hours than they were supposed to.
This lets the employees know how much they can spend and keeps money from going to waste.
Hourly wages are less responsible than salary wages
People who get a salary are not only professionally qualified, but they are also responsible for the company’s growth.
So, hourly employees are usually not held responsible if something goes wrong with the way the company does business.
Better Quality Product/ Service
Wage earners ensure that the products’ quality stays the same. When wage earners make products, their supervisors ensure their quality remains the same.
Since hourly workers are paid based on how much time they spend at work, they will try to keep up the quality even if the amount of work they do is less.
But salaried workers are constantly under pressure to meet their goals, so they will try to meet the quantity instead of the quality of the product or service they provide.
Insurance coverage
Insurance coverage is vital to any job. Most of the time, people who work for a living get less insurance coverage.
Insurance gives employees a sense of safety, so they are willing to take risks up to a certain point.
On the other hand, salary workers get insurance through their jobs. The amount of money that can be paid out depends on the employee’s position in the company.
Contract with the employer
Most hourly workers don’t have written agreements with their employers. Instead, the agreement between the employer and the worker is made verbally. Besides, all other working conditions are decided on the spot.
On the other hand, the contract with salaried employees is well written, and all the terms and conditions are worked out ahead of time.
Unstable job security
No job is permanent. But hourly wage workers are more likely to lose their jobs because they don’t have a written contract. As a result, their employers hire people willing to work for less money as soon as they find them.
So, they can work anywhere that pays them more money.
Cons of wages
1. The number of hours an employee works: An employee gets paid based on how many hours they work at the office. Salaried employees get the same monthly amount, no matter how many hours they work. But workers who get paid by the hour must work longer to make up for that extra money.
2. No guaranteed salary every month: People who get paid by the hour don’t have a steady income. To get that extra money, these workers have to work more hours. If these workers pay for something different monthly, they will have to work more hours to meet their needs.
3. Less extra work time: Employees are paid more money when they work extra hours. The people who get paid by the hour also get extra money but don’t get a salary like the salaried workers. Employees who get compensation get paid more because they have more skills than employees who get paid by the hour.
4. Employees lose pay when they miss work because they are sick. Anyone can have a medical emergency at any time. When employees who get paid by the hour miss work, they also miss out on their wages and their monthly income schedule. If these workers need money a lot, they might even put their health at risk.
5. Employees who get paid by the hour can’t figure out how much money they can spend each month because they can’t determine how much they get paid each month. This makes it impossible for employees to invest if they want to.
6. Hourly workers are less qualified than salaried workers. People who work by the hour are usually less capable than salaried workers, so they get paid less. These people don’t have as much job training and typically work at the bottom.
7. Wage earners might not get a steady job: These workers might not get a regular job, which would hurt their monthly income. If these people lose their jobs, it might be hard for them to pay their bills. In addition, since they don’t have a written agreement with the boss, they don’t get paid either.
8. They don’t have a say in how the company makes decisions. People who work for an hourly wage don’t have a say in how the company makes decisions. These employees can’t say if they want the rules to change; if they do, they must go through a long process.
9. There is no legal support for wage earners because there is no written contract between them and their employers. If the employer fires them, they must leave without legal help.
10. Lesser benefits for employees: Usually, employers give fewer benefits to employees who work on an hourly wage rate plan. Most of the time, this is done because the people who work for pay aren’t trained professionals. Instead, they are just the company’s production team. As a result, they have no say in how the company decides its policies.
