The remuneration of labor is paid in various manners and under various names. There are following two main methods of wage payments system:
(1) Wage System According to the Class of Workers Engaged.
(2) Wage System According to the Manner of Payment.
(1) Wage System According to the Class of Workers Engaged:
(i) Salary: If a person is highly paid, the remuneration is called ‘salary’. For instance, the earning of a professor, an engineer, a manager, etc., is named as ‘salary’.
(ii) Pay: The payment to the middle class workers, such as typists, clerks, stenographers, etc., for their services is called ‘pay’.
(iii) Wage: The reward which is paid to the inferior type of workers, whether they may be skilled or unskilled is called ‘wages’.
(iv) Fee: Fee are the earnings of independent workers, such as doctors, lawyers, etc.
(2) Wage System According to the Manner of Payment:
(i) Time Wages: If a person is receiving remuneration on the basis of a unit of time, i.e., daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly, the wages are named time wages.
(ii) Piece Wages: If a labor is paid according to the work done, the wages are called piece wages. Piece wages are possible only in those occupations where the work can be measured or standardized.