Salary vs Hourly: Difference and Comparison

Understanding the difference between Salary vs Hourly Pay helps with the job. This helps in applying for a new job or getting a promotion. It cannot be guessed which of the two is better.

It also has many advantages and disadvantages, which show their importance and help choose the right career.

Key Takeaways

1. Salaried employees receive a fixed annual income, regardless of hours worked.
2. Hourly employees earn wages based on the number of hours they work.
3. The choice between salaried and hourly employment depends on factors like job stability, benefits, and work-life balance.

Salary vs Hourly

A salary is a fixed payment offered to employees by employers on a monthly basis. It is given to employees who work full-time for an organization. Hourly pay is a payment offered to contract workers or freelancers where a sum of money is paid on an hourly basis. The amount is based on the amount of work completed.

Salary is drawn for a full-time post, and it is paid continuously, i.e. based on work done. Employers mainly get their salary in one month or two months, which is fixed. In some businesses, this salary is available at the end of the year.

It also provides other facilities necessary for health. Your hourly amount is what you are paid for work done in 1 hour. Most companies hire hourly charges employees as consultants, which helps the team with any hurdles and freelancers also get paid on an hourly basis.

For example, if you work 20 hours 30 minutes, then you will be paid based on that. It is not for a full-time post. It depends on the work done by consultants and freelancers.

Comparison Table

Parameters of comparison	Salary	Hourly
Definition	Salary is drawn for a full-time post and it is paid continuously, i.e. based on work done. Employees mainly get their salary in one month which is fixed.	Hourly employees are paid based on every hour worked by them i.e. your hourly amount is what you are paid for work done in 1 hour.
Benefits	Salaried employees get bonuses and insurance plans which are provided by their company	There is no bonus and insurance plans for hourly employees.
Minimum wage	A salaried employee must be given minimum wage.	There’s no minimum wage for hourly employees or consultants.
Pay rate	Salaried employee’s pay is fixed every month and based on employer policies employee’s CTC gets increased on a regular interval.	Hourly consultants or freelancers can request for increment in their pay rate anytime.
Job security	A salaried employee would be given prior notice of at least a month or two before firing.	Hourly employees can be fired anytime without prior notice.

What is Salary?

Salaried employees are provided compensation on an annual basis, which is referred to as Cost to Company(CTC). The salary paid to them, which is fixed annually, divided by the number of months, is given to them at the end of the month.

For example, if an employee earns 10 lakhs in a year, then the salary in his name will be a lump sum of 75-80k per month after excluding taxes and other charges as per company policies and the clause mentioned in the offer letter given to the employee at a time of joining, which will be given to him at the end of the month.

And he will get this amount every month, which will be given to him for the work done by him. It is not given on an hourly basis or for overwork but in the form of a monthly salary.

Some employees are paid the same salary as exempt employees. Exempt employee means employees who are exempted from the overtime rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

This is the reason why the hours worked by the employees are not tracked, nor are they compensated for the extra work. Some employers promise their salaried employees extra pay for overtime or night shifts and other benefits such as a cab facility, one meal of the day as per the work, etc.

In some businesses, employees are paid extra for overtime even though they are not paid hourly, but overtime is paid separately. But it is limited to only a few businesses.

What is Hourly?

Hourly workers are paid based on how many hours they have worked. For example, if the hourly rate of an employee is Rs 500 and he works 40 hours in a week, he will be given 40 x 500 or 20000 for that period.

All hourly consultants are considered non-exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards guidelines.

Certain guidelines of the non-exempt employees get changed in a different state, and they get paid differently for overtime. Hourly consultant’s hourly charges are decided based on the kind of work or service they’re providing.

An individual freelancer or consultant can work for multiple organizations or employers at a time, and they don’t get certain benefits of organization policies such as insurance coverage or cab facility, etc.

Your hourly amount is what you are paid for work done in 1 hour. If someone works more than 1 hour, then he gets more money. For example, if you work 20 hours 30 minutes, then you will be paid based on that. It is not for a full-time post.

It depends on the work done by the employee.

Hourly employees’ weekly schedules change over a week. They are not the same or constant. Their shift schedule also changes every week. Therefore, their hours may vary from week to week. 

Main Differences Between Salary and Hourly

1. Salary is always paid at the end of the month, whereas hourly employees are paid based on every hour worked by them, which could be paid at the end of the week.
2. The salaried employee allowance is fixed every month, and their compensation review happens after a certain period as per company policy, whereas hourly consultants could request or demand new hourly charges from the employer anytime.
3. Salaried employees must be given a minimum wage even if he/she does not have any work, whereas there’s no minimum wage for hourly-based employees.
4. Salaried employees get bonuses and insurance plans which are provided by their company, whereas hourly employees cannot enjoy these as they get only hourly salary and nothing else.
5. A salaried employee must be given prior notice before firing and full wage for that notice period, whereas hourly consultants can be fired anytime without any prior notice period.

References

1. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/month94&section=73
2. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7976694/
3. https://journals.lww.com/jonajournal/FullText/2015/05000/A_Comparison_of_Salary_Wage_and_Hourly_Wage_Acute.5.aspx