wage

Pay given to labour. The pay of manual workers is usually called wages, compared to salaries paid to nonmanual workers. The basic wage of a worker is the wage received for working a normal week. On top of the basic wage, the worker may receive overtime pay and other bonus payments. The basic wage plus these extra payments is called the worker's earnings. The wage rate is the wage over a period of time, such as an hour or week.

For example, a worker may be on £5 an hour for a basic working week of 40 hours. Thus, his or her weekly pay is £200. If he or she works four hours of overtime at time and a half, the total earnings in the wage packet for the week would be £230. The equilibrium wage for a group of workers in a free market is fixed by the forces of demand and supply.