Base Pay In Commission Sales
Definition: Base pay is a basic salary that is provided to an employee, but it excludes benefits, bonuses, increments, or any other type of extra compensation. It is the rate at which the employee is compensated for service, normally expressed per hour, week, month, or year.
Understanding Base Pay
Base pay is the core component of the employee’s salary structure. It is the basic amount of money an employee is paid in their paycheck, exclusive of other earnings or any other deductions. The following are the elements of base pay:
- Fixed Amount: Base pay is a fixed amount in nature. It constitutes the minimum amount of money that the employee can receive and does not go up as the number of hours worked increases. This is in contrast to overtime pay or bonuses.
- Excludes Extra Compensation: It does not include bonuses, overtime, benefits, or any other kind of compensation. Base pay is the core, predictable part of an employee’s earnings.
- Salary vs. Hourly Pay: Base pay may be given in the form of salary or on an hourly basis. Salaried employees receive a fixed base pay, regardless of the number of hours worked. However, hourly employees get base pay for hours actually worked.
Calculation of Base Pay
A salary base is usually easily defined because it is only an employee’s annual salary divided by the pay periods in one year. An hourly wage, on the other hand, is simply the wage rate per hour multiplied by the number of hours spent on work for that pay period. Some examples of these are:
- Annual Salary: An employee that makes $50,000 a year with a base salary and on the monthly pay would bring home a base salary each month of $4,166.67.
- Hourly Wage: An employee who earns $25 an hour, working full-time hours at 40 hours per week, would earn $1,000 per week on a base pay weekly.
Factors Influencing Base Pay
There are a few factors that can impact the amount an employee gets through base pay:
- Experience and Skills: Typically, more experienced workers or workers with higher skills demand a higher base pay.
- Industry Standards: Base pay varies significantly by industry depending on the type of work and market demand.
- Location: The location can have an impact on base pay because of differences in the cost of living and local market conditions.
- Company Policy: Every company has a policy of compensation where base pay rates set with reference to the internal factors for the job, performance, and length of service.
Importance of Base Pay
There are a number of reasons base pay is important:
- Financial Security: It ensures financial security to the employees because it is a regular and fixed component of their remuneration.
- Benchmarking: It helps to benchmark salaries in the industry and for similar job roles so as to ensure competitiveness and fairness in paying employees.
- Employee Motivation: Acts as the base of employee motivation and satisfaction, influencing the performance and retention of the employees.
- Regulatory Compliance: Ensures compliance with minimum wage laws and other regulatory requirements.
Real-World Example
There is a basic salary of $70,000 per year for a marketing manager working in a medium-sized firm. This employee works within the standard working hours, and the normal payments for them do not incorporate any annual bonus or health benefit payment. There may also be other payments from bonuses and paid on top of the normal basic.