Wages Vs Salary

BF MKII UTE · 28-07-2005, 11:18 PM

As the title says, what are other members thoughts on an hourly rate wage vs a salary package ? Has anybody here made the change from one to the other ? If so are you happy or do you regret it ?

I've been given an offer by my GM to change over but i'm still not sold on the idea as yet.

GROOV3 · 28-07-2005, 11:31 PM

im on salary, get paid monthly (sucks), dont get paid enough (sucks) work more than the std 40 hours (sucks)

MITCHAY · 28-07-2005, 11:39 PM

So it sucks 3 ways. Lol cant you earn more on wages though?

Casper · 28-07-2005, 11:39 PM

I've been on a salary since I was 19. Only spent a year on wages.
I'm used to it and, if you can work it right, it ends up being much easier to handle.
Never paid enough though :(

svo347 · 28-07-2005, 11:44 PM

I too have gone from wages to salary..
Personally I dont mind it, We dont do overtime etc here so penalty rates dont really apply to me, mind you i work an 84 hr week.

Kryton · 28-07-2005, 11:48 PM

both milk factories that i have worked at here have had wages for the workers and salary for the office/management staff.
wages are weekly and all award, penalty, holiday rates apply.
staf however get paid monthly and do overtime if and when required without extra pay.
oh and they get a load less than me!

347Stroker · 28-07-2005, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svo347

I too have gone from wages to salary..
Personally I dont mind it, We dont do overtime etc here so penalty rates dont really apply to me, mind you i work an 84 hr week.

Good to see our awards look after everybody....

gtfpv · 29-07-2005, 12:28 AM

stick to wages unless your salary offer is 30 % more than flat wages.

b2tf · 29-07-2005, 12:41 AM

Having been on both I think wages are better if youre in a job where overtime or public holiday work is a possibility.

But if its the same old hours you may as well stick to the salary, the advantage being you know exactly how much youre going to get every time. Wages is good cos you always have the possibility to earn more.

JADED6 · 29-07-2005, 02:17 AM

I declined a salary package offer. Didn't sit to well with the bosses as everyone else that was offered it accepted (and proceeded to cry about how they wish they hadn't signed it)
I remained the only one that didn't accept it and was called in to the office 4 times in 3 months so they could outline why they think a salary package for all staff creates more security and better morale as workers feel more a part of the business.
Still seemed crap to me as it was 6 grand P/A less than I'd made in the 3 years leading up to it.
NO THANKS.

XD 351 Ute · 29-07-2005, 03:32 AM

We work on an annualised income, which is kind of a wages/salary mix.
We get paid fortnightly, have a 76 hour fortnight (9 day fortnight), and get an RDO, and FDO (same as RDO but we work extra to get it off).
We work a number of days for shutdowns, call outs and overtime, for which we are paid an allowance spread ovedr the year. The smarter we work, the less hours we spend at work, hence we get the extra for free.
There are safety limits on our overtime and callouts, and when these are exceeded, penalty rates are paid. If we are rostered on call over a public holiday, we get a day off in leui regardless of whether we get called to work or not.
Over all it works out pretty good, I earnt nearly 70k for a 38 hour week over last year...
We just signed up our EBA for 3 years, so we don;t have to worry about Mr Howard just yet!!

When you consider in my last job, we went from wages to salary and I earnt half as much for more hours compared to what I'm doing now, there's no way in a blue moon that I'd ever go on salary again.

You sell your soul to the devil, especially in big companies where all you are is a number................

Ed

svo347 · 29-07-2005, 05:48 AM

Fair enuff but here Im on a 2 week on 1 off roster FI/FO on $107,000 pa.

bindi · 29-07-2005, 06:37 AM

Ok well my hubby is currently on a contract and therefore he's paid by the hour, but if he has any time off then there is no pay - simple.

Having been the payroll officer for Wonderland Sydney, from personal experience IMHO I can tell you that wages are better. Once you have a salary then you are expected to work as many hours as they want you to and you don't get paid overtime ("but it's part of your package!"). Also you can get sick days and holiday pay (if it's part of your agreement) but it is frowned upon and you'd better be damn well dying before they accept that you are indeed sick - and the conditions around holidays are pretty shonky too.

I really noticed the difference between being a casual employee to a salaried one - the attitude was "we own you now and you do as we say".

Hubby has had both salaried work and waged work and the overtime you are expected to work on salary without whinging is quite extraordinary...

Racecraft · 29-07-2005, 06:58 AM

In am on a salary, and do alot less hours than most.. The difference between salary and wages for most, is that salary is a package.. You might gross less but you get a car, fuel allowance, moblile phone bills paid etc etc.. so your take home cash after 'perks' can be alot more. If your employer is trying to switch you though whilst keeping your exact same job description, they are only doing it for one reason.. To save themselves money..

Bucknaked · 29-07-2005, 07:01 AM

I'm on Salary, in the Public Service. I get flex time so hours don't effect my annual amount. I get overtime and I get On-Call allowances as an extra bonus. In my team, theres me and my supervisor. We are the only 2 in our department that can do the work we do. So when he is on leave, i get to act in his position and get paid extra allowance.

For me, Salary is better. Its my about job security

Shonky · 29-07-2005, 08:33 AM

I am on a Salary, but we are not expected to work overtime, we get penalty rates for weekends and double time on public holidays.

35 grand a year to sit in front of AFF!

29-07-2005, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtfpv

stick to wages unless your salary offer is 30 % more than flat wages.

this is what i think as ive been on both and i perfer wages in my industry ,

with salary be carfull of the fine print ,read contract very carfull as i got caught out by lossing my loading and signed up for a 40 hr week when i was on a 38 hr ,all i saw was the extra 5k but at the end of a financial year i was at least 5k out of pocket, try and get 30% more if possible.

Sagerian · 29-07-2005, 09:54 AM

I've switched from Salary to wages and the other way around. Right now I'm on wages and could not be happier with the return. The downside for wages is the lack of benefits, screws you royaly if you're sick, etc.

But for the extra dosh I'm happy to rock up to work while sick, if you work for a decent place they send you home with pay anyway.

mcflux · 29-07-2005, 10:12 AM

2x wages for me

Job#1 = set hours, plus penalty pay on sundays (150%... and I work on Sundays).

Job#2 = no penalty rates, but I can come & go whenever I please, since it's kinda tied in with my uni study

I normally do mondays and/or fridays at this job, but next week I've got the gf coming down on Monday and an E-Series cruise on Friday :monkes: so it looks like I'll get paid a bit less next fortnight ;) ;)

The only downside about the 2nd job is I get taxed heaps :(

-Dave-

NAK302 · 29-07-2005, 10:14 AM

i'm surprised no one has mentioned superannuation here. generally a staff position is a package where super of 9.5% is added to it. on wages it dosn't matter how many penalties you get, that super is still calculated on your base wage.
the best of both worlds is what XD 351 Ute is on which is called annualised wages. all the penalties, mixed functions etc is put into a annual gross and then paid weekly. the super is then calculated on this figure. this is the same system we have here. as for overtime, it is a set hourly rate @ double time which oddly, is the same amount nett as a normal shift. so having worked all three, (wages, annualised wages and staff) i'll take the annualised wage everytime.

TheSneakiness · 29-07-2005, 10:25 AM

I'm on wages. Don't mind it. Puts fuel in the ute.

Leah · 29-07-2005, 10:27 AM

Im on a salary. personally I think it depends what industry you're in and the work environment. Our salary's are worked out on the roster you work. If for some reason our roster was to change and we would be working weekends or nights, then the salary changes. I think its good because we still get the perks of incentive bonus's twice a year, sick leave, annual leave and if you do have to work a public holiday you earn time in lieu, or you can arrange to have the day off and not accumulate days in lieu. If you can work out and agree on the package you want, then I think the security of a salary is better.

conordec · 29-07-2005, 12:24 PM

salary for me.....
just got a 12% payrise... wooooohooooo
in other words... the company now pays my tax.... well most of it.
15% tax here.
but yes... i work sh!t long hours. not hard work, just long days, and it's a 6 day work week here in hk... so that sucks abit too... but i have flexy time.. where i come and go as i please.
but the moneys worth it. ;)

4.9 EF Futura · 29-07-2005, 01:24 PM

Im on a salary, have been since i finished uni. Used to work in manufacturing before that and was on a wage. With lots of overtime it was good money.

Now i work 55hr + weeks whilst my salary is based on a 38hr week... having said that, putting in the hard yards just got me a 20% payrise so im not complaining. I'd say that anyone who wants to get paid exactly what is owed and isnt keen on putting in the extra without immediate financial reward is not suited to salary...

I also like the focus on ouput (salary) as opposed to time (wage). If i were paid by the hour, i would feel guilty going for a smoke every couple of hours, i wouldnt be able to go to the dentist etc. before coming to work, or go out to lunch for a couple of hours every now and then - all those nice flexible things (NOT flexitime, just flexible)

MITCHAY · 29-07-2005, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sagerian

I've switched from Salary to wages and the other way around. Right now I'm on wages and could not be happier with the return. The downside for wages is the lack of benefits, screws you royaly if you're sick, etc.

But for the extra dosh I'm happy to rock up to work while sick, if you work for a decent place they send you home with pay anyway.

I was thinkn though even though you get sick leave with salary you might not use it. And dont you get a higher rate on wages therefore if you do a bit of overtime here and there you would bank enough to cover this?. I earn like $12000 a yr on a casual basis and get no benefits and ive worked it out that if i was fulltime id earn f all with benefits i couldnt use anyway.

But it works for me because i dont have a family to support or anythn else that i need to work for. I work only about 30-35hrs a week but id say all but about 8 hours of that im by myself managing the store so its like doin 2 peoples work so its a bit tiring.

Basically where im workn now theres only me and the owner so there is certain days i cant have off anyways unless it was an extreme emergency. Its a bit of a stress at the moment but my boss is good so i know for all the extra i put in he will reward me when he can afford to.

Sagerian · 29-07-2005, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

I was thinkn though even though you get sick leave with salary you might not use it. And dont you get a higher rate on wages therefore if you do a bit of overtime here and there you would bank enough to cover this?. I earn like $12000 a yr on a casual basis and get no benefits and ive worked it out that if i was fulltime id earn f all with benefits i couldnt use anyway.

Ya wages are supposed to be higher to cover the fact that you don't get leave or super. Luckily I get super anyway plus the higher wage (thank you government job).

But still, being sick for one day and losing $185 after tax, you'll miss it. So benefits are a good safety net and could come in handy one day.

MITCHAY · 29-07-2005, 02:09 PM

I get paid super so i guess im lucking although it aint much but its still money YAY. My mum told me that some jobs pay 18% super instead of the compulsary 9%. I think the best thing to do for the long term is to put money into a bank account add a bit to it each week.

Roughly if i invest only $5000 now and ad only $12000 a year at 5.25% compounded monthly i will have $899,696.49 in 30yrs. But this simple calculation here doesnt allow for pay rises over the years its just based on what I can afford now so the savings will be way higher.

http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator...calculator.htm

http://www.stgeorge.com.au/calculato...t.asp?orc=home

Sagerian · 29-07-2005, 02:19 PM

You should put that money into investment property. It's still safe as houses (no pun intended).

I'm pumping extra into my super at the moment and chuck it at high risk investments.

Once I'm done with my travelling bug in maybe 4 years, I'll get ready for investment property.

Feathers · 29-07-2005, 04:13 PM

I'm a wage employee, and though I was offered the chance to go on salary I was warned off it.
I would still have to work overnights, and weekends and all public holidays, and I wouldn't get any more money for it.
Plus in our Woolies salary policies it is a condition that they can move you wherever they like whenever they like. I know several people who got called at home, Friday afternoon, and had to start at a new store on Monday.
And the only people who get company cars for them are store managers and up.
Woolies salary staff get paid every 2 weeks.

SWOOP · 29-07-2005, 04:32 PM

just today I swapped from fulltime over to casual after 13 years , works out better for me because I still earn the same dollars maybe more + super and flexability. Only have to work mon - thurs , and gives me time to look at a new career possibilities.