Wages vs Salary

[Me]

G'day mate,

I was on salary for 7 years; when I went into it, the boss told me I'd be compensated for all of the extra hours I would have to work with time off in lieu. I worked plenty of extra hours & even days & I'm still waiting for the time off in lieu! (I left there 12 years ago) Then there's the unexpected calls where I got called in to cover for someone else who's gone sick/on holidays/pregnant, you name it!

Never again for me!

[D4D]

I suppose it depends on what profession you're in. I've only ever been on salary, sure I put in extra hours but it evens itself out in the end.

[grafy82]

I'm on a salary and get paid monthly and yes, sometimes it seems like you live like a king for a week and then a pauper for the next 3 until payday. But that is more about how you manage your money than anything else. I do work a few extra hours here and there as part of my daily job but if I get a proper call to come in and cover someone on my days off, I get paid double time for the shift $$.

[shanegtr]

I've been on a salary for the last 10 years or so, monthly pay the whole time. I've never had an issue with it all and it's just normal to me. I've been fortanante to have good employers that don't demand stupid extra hours.

[MADCOW]

Interesting thread! I've gone back to wages after being on a salary for the past 12 years. Saying that it took over 5 years to get to this stage.  For me it has given me much more flexibility although a slight drop in pay. I now get paid for overtime, Allowances such as First Aid $14.50 per week, Now getting an RDO every 4 weeks. I am basically always on call but there are benefits if the need to come into work arises. AND I am now covered by our Site EA which was the primary reason for changing. I was potentially exposed to a much lesser payout if i was ever made redundant.

[Andreweasty90]

Very interesting I'm in a position now with taking a new job that is offering both options. However coming from my previous job that was salary with monthly pay(on the last day of the month) with monthly salary you need to have a buffer I would always have atleast 1 months pay in my account all the time plus normal emergency fund hidden away it can make those spontaneous great deal purchases a bit more difficult. The biggest reason why I am changing is because of the agreement with the employer in the overtime and shift/away work just. All I can say if you take salary is it enough money for you to be happy with doing 50 hours a week, you might not do that many hours but you will most likely do more then 40 especially at first. I'm going to wages with the new job just because there is plenty of OT and I want to make hay while the sunshines


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[steptoey]

WAGES FOR THE WIN

Salary = used and abused. Been salary for the past 13yrs, when I convert the hours worked back to an hourly rate its extremely sad. I get nothing like the wage guys, they clock on and off Salary does not. If I work a weekend with wages they get double, I get a day in lieu.

My 2 bobs

[slcs78]

I just did the sums. I took my hourly rate x yearly salary hours. Then took my weekly income / hours actually worked on average. Times it back out and it's a difference of $27,000. Ie my real salary is less 27k or they are getting an additional 27k for free each year out of me

[steptoey]

I just did the sums. I took my hourly rate x yearly salary hours. Then took my weekly income / hours actually worked on average. Times it back out and it's a difference of $27,000. Ie my real salary is less 27k or they are getting an additional 27k for free each year out of me

Thats right mate, I get paid for 7,5hrs a day, they put me on a 9hr roster which if I'm lucky i'll get out of there after 10hrs.

[grafy82]

You have to look at the whole package and the way the company or business treats people. If you were to look at just my salary vs hours worked it would look poor. Im lucky to also receive an extra two weeks AL each year, shares, bonuses, vehicle etc. Whilst there is a very high expectation of working the hours until the job is done, there is never an issue when it comes to flexibility re family time etc. 

I just did the sums. I took my hourly rate x yearly salary hours. Then took my weekly income / hours actually worked on average. Times it back out and it's a difference of $27,000. Ie my real salary is less 27k or they are getting an additional 27k for free each year out of me

Bottom line is, it must be a good job cause ya still there 

[steptoey]

Bottom line is, it must be a good job cause ya still there 

Hi

Sometimes the bottom line is that:

You live rural - not alot of options like in the metro.
You have bills and a family to feed - can't just chuck it in and get a job somewhere else.
If you happen to be in the private sector most employers are doing it tough, salary is a soft target so thats where they cut costs.

Another 2 bobs worth 

[WilSurf]

I did 1 year on wages.
The pay is good but in the current market some sort of security is worth a lot.
My monthly pay is less, however there is an annual bonus, shares and other benefits.

Only downside is that I went from weekly pay to monthly pay.
My first job in Australia was paid fortnightly which is great.

[Lori]

We have done both, we have found greater flexibility with salary when it comes to negotiating a package.

Perks we have previously negotiated are extra holiday time, car allowances, RDOs, phones, bonuses ect

Salary is good for budgeting, you know what money your receiving and you not getting a cent more! Sometimes it works out quite well, work is a bit slow not alot on and the pay is good for the hours worked but mostly it has been lots of work, lots of pressure and lots of hours and no home life for what works out to be a pretty dismal hourly rate.

We have found that working in a larger company on salary is ok because there is usually more than one of you and you can be backed up and helped out, you just have to deal with the red tape that at times almost makes it impossible to do your job. In a small company where there is no one else to help spread the load then you end up doing long hours.

[rotare]

Wages or salary - it makes no difference if an employer wants to rape you in regards to what you take home, they can do it with either.

The trick is finding an employer that is fair and reasonable with what they are offering, not only for the hourly rate, but the whole package. Such things as flexibility of working hours, opportunity for training and development (paid by company), profit sharing, incentives etc.  Some of these things are "worth" quite a bit to people and make the job much more enjoyable but can be over looked / underestimated if you're just purely looking at your hourly rate alone.

I'm a big believer that we all have choices.  If you're not happy with what you're getting paid or the job you doing, you can always do something about it.... 

[Garfish]

9.5 years with last company on Salary when I left TOIL was at 25 days and that only included weekend work.   Of course contract stated all hours required to complete role were included manager would give time when needed But was best role and didn't mind the hours. Now if I added all the 12 hour days and time on laptop etc at home it would be huge but great company people benefits and $ made it worthwhile each to their own. If on wages need to budget of Base and not include OT in planning


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