Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with salary and wages

They want their money back - but should they get it? (UK)

almostwitty — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:31:32 -0800

My British employer overpaid me back in June 2008 to the tune of £1k. I pointed this out at the time, but never heard from anyone. Now it's December, and they want the money back. However, I've heard that I can contest this, on the grounds that the employer made a mistake, and that it's illegal to force employees to rectify companies' mistakes. Is this true? And what legalese can I quote? :)

Am I being underpaid to sit in a little grey box?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:29:32 -0800

How much should an online marketing manager be paid? With a base salary and a 100% trackable sales? Company description: Sell shippable custom widgets, which must be bought online.

Job description: Online Marketing Manager, recruit affiliates for our affiliate program. Find websites to advertise on that will convert to sales.

I know I'm leaving money on the table, I've only been there 3 months, but I think my value will be extremely high from a ROI perspective.

With analytic data we can track almost 100% of the sales that I will bring in directly to the site.

I'm only being paid salary currently, but I feel like there is a better payment equation based on my skills
and abilities (lower salary + commission). Is there a standard equation for something like this?

Are there websites that focus on on this particular question for my particular niche?

Do companies have a particular ROI for this particular position? Example they expect to make $2.5 profit for every dollar I'm paid.

Basically there are a lot of little questions that all equal up to the generic question that we all ask when it comes to working, am I receiving the proper compensation?

Overtime pay versus comp time

Optimus Chyme — Tue, 01 May 2007 06:16:25 -0800

What are the rules, if any, governing overtime pay versus comp time? Yesterday afternoon, my employer told all employees that there would be no more overtime pay, only comp time. Neither I nor anyone else on my team is salaried.

I live in Arizona and as far as I can tell, Arizona does not have an overtime law, so we should be covered under federal law. But I can't find any explanations of overtime pay versus comp time here.

So, my questions are pretty simple:

1) Is it legal to give employees comp time in lieu of overtime?

2) Would that comp time be accrued like overtime pay, that is, one and a half hours for every hour worked over 40?

3) If it is not legal, what are the specific laws and penalties covering it?

Thanks!

Why was I changed from exempt to non-exempt at my job?

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 20:42:31 -0800

Changed from an exempt to a non-exempt employee; what gives? First, background: I work in Chicago for the technology division of a large investment bank based in NY. I am within a couple days of receiving my year end bonus and raise numbers. Yesterday, my bosses' boss called me directly to inform me that I was being changed from an exempt to a non-exempt employee, effective in the new year. I was told not to expect a change in my job responsibilities or hours. With my new status, I will make my base salary based on 40 hours per week. In addition, my "overtime premium" will be one half (not time-and-a-half) of my hourly rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. They claim this is not being done to reward or compensate me. Every person in my group and department is exempt AFAIK (though some may have just received the same news I have). I am being told so far that this status will not affect my eligibility for my yearly bonus and raise. I currently work on average 45-55 hours a week, make a base salary of $70,000 and a bonus of $30k-$40k.

Questions/concerns: why the hell would they do this? Knowing I already work over 40 hours a week as a rule, why would they change my status to non-exempt and be effectively paying me more money for the same work? As I said, this is not considered a comp reward. Could they be doing this in reaction to a lawsuit or settlement by a former employee who claimed a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act? Could this sudden change to non-exempt at my salary level and amount of hours I work in any way forecast my being layed off? Finally, as I understand it, the FLSA defines overtime as being time-and-a-half; why are they defining my "overtime premium" as 50% of my normal hourly rate?

Windfall!

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 10:58:48 -0800

My latest paycheck is for double the amount I'm supposed to be getting paid. I get paid by direct deposit, so the money is already in my account. What do I do?

Should I get a raise?

skryche — Thu, 27 May 2004 09:02:59 -0800

How much should an Advanced Excel (PivotTable, lookups, etc.) hombre in Manhattan be getting paid? I've been temping in this hole of an office for a few months and almost all spreadsheetery has become my responsibility. I think some sort of raise is in order, but I'm not sure what my target should be.