[Grammar] salary/wage/wages

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Will17

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Hello,

Is there a difference between: salary, wage and wages?

Thanks a lot
W
 

bhaisahab

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Hello,

Is there a difference between: salary, wage and wages?

Thanks a lot
W
They can mean the same, but it used to be the case that "Wages/a wage" meant weekly pay and "salary" meant monthly pay. I think that this is still true in some cases in the UK.
 

emsr2d2

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They can mean the same, but it used to be the case that "Wages/a wage" meant weekly pay and "salary" meant monthly pay. I think that this is still true in some cases in the UK.

Yes, I agree. Most people on a salary quote their salary per annum:

My salary is £24,000 a year.

Wages are historically paid weekly and I believe used to be paid in cash!

However, interestingly, the phrase "minimum wage" refers to the hourly rate of pay, not weekly. The minimum wage in the UK is £5.80 per hour for workers over the age of 22.
 

emsr2d2

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In the US wages are usually the pay received by someone who is getting paid on a hourly basis. If, for example, I receive $28.00 per hour I will be paid $28.00 for every hour I work. A salary is different - it is pay for a certain period. I may agree to work for $4,000.00 per month. I wll be paid $4,000.00 whether I work 160 hours, 100 hours, or 200 hours. Professionals are usually give a salary and common workers get a wage.

Also an interesting difference then. In my previous job, I was salaried, but it was based on a 42-hour week, not an hourly rate. My salary was quoted "per annum" and I had to work a 42-hour week (or rather, a maximum of 42 hours per week. Sometimes we worked less but we still got paid the same. However, if I worked over 42 hours, my overtime was paid at an hourly rate!)
 

bhaisahab

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This is all very interesting to me. Having been self employed and not salaried for more than 30 years my (limited) knowledge of this is largely academic (in the loosest sense of the word).
 
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