Salary

A salary is a regular, fixed, agree upon payment or wage paid to a professional employee on a monthly or biweekly basis.

Salaried workers are not covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and do not have to receive overtime pay or minimum wage. They do, however, generally receive other benefits unavailable to hourly workers such as insurance provided by the employer.

Benefits of a paid salary

There are several benefits of receiving a salary, namely a higher wage. Salaried workers may, however, have more responsibilities and be expected to complete more difficult tasks within a tighter work schedule. In some cases salaried workers will also be required to work much more than 40 hours per week without any additional compensation. For example, it is not unusual for many management and professional employees to work 50 hours or more per week.

Salaried workers may also have greater flexibility in their work schedule. Alternative work schedules or telecommuting may be available to certain professional, salaried employees. In some cases management may care very little about when or where a salaried employee works as long as they complete the required job duties.

Salary and managing your money

Salaried employees also may have a benefit over their hourly counterparts because they know exactly how much money they will receive each pay period, allowing them greater ability to reach their financial goals. For instance, a consistent paycheck may allow a salaried employee to save, budget, and invest without considering the seasonal fluctuations of certain part-time jobs.Salaried employees also may receive perks or other fringe benefits from their employers including insurance, bonuses, extra time off, and paid holidays.

Disadvantage of a Salary

The main disadvantage of being a salaried employee is that workers are not paid more money even if they work well above the standard 40 hour work week. While non-exempt employees will receive one and a half times their regular rate of pay, salaried employees will receive their standard salary whether they work 80 hours per week or 40 hours. Salaried workers also will not receive extra pay for working weekends or holidays. Although salaried workers may make more on average than most hourly workers, if they have to work too many hours in the week this may no longer be true.