Diffrences between hourly wages and monthly/Salary

[smilesalot]

Im looking to know what are the pros and cons of this type of offer here in Finland, a friend of mine has been offered the choice of either being paid hourly or monthly. Its working at a gas station.
He also wants to know are there any benefits for working the night shift? another option for him.
He said they offered him 11.50 hourly, to me thats more than reasonable, but I don't know what the minimum wage is here in Finland.

smilesalot

[EP]

It is just a way of counting. I don´t see the difference. Payment by hour is usual for jobs like gas station attendant (or what are they called), factory work, bar work, and so on. 11,50 € sounds reasonable. Night shifts should pay more than day shifts. And so should Sunday shifts, night or day.

[blaugrau]

You or he could double-check with the service worker's union : http://www.pam.fi/in_english/

They list the terms of employment on their website, the link is here: http://www.pam.fi/in_english/rights_at_ ... the_comme/

(at the bottom there's also pay scales and night bonuses mentioned for workers at gas ie. service stations)

[smilesalot]

It is just a way of counting. I don´t see the difference. Payment by hour is usual for jobs like gas station attendant (or what are they called), factory work, bar work, and so on. 11,50 € sounds reasonable. Night shifts should pay more than day shifts. And so should Sunday shifts, night or day.

If there is no diffrence between Salary and hourly why offer ?
I guess the question for me was, if he is paid hourly he'll make more money if they offer him more hours whereas salary if he works more hours he still gets the same wages. But I thought there might be rules and regs a company must follow here in Finland as compared to where Im from. So I figured to ask the collective Finland Forum. Also to see what words of wisdom/advice may be suggested.

smilesalot

There is no knowledge that is not power.
RW Emerson

[blaugrau]

the service workers' union will know better than most finlandforumers, I suspect.

[smilesalot]

the service workers' union will know better than most finlandforumers, I suspect.

But these are the rules and regulations, what about the loopholes and things not listed, an usually its others real life experiences does the information come out.

smilesalot

Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.
Benjamin Franklin

[blaugrau]

I meant contacting the union and ask them the same question If someone knows about loopholes, then it's those people whose job is to protect workers' rights.

The link I gave you is to get a first impression of what the legal terms of employment and the collective agreements are, knowing these is the first step to not be unknowingly exploited by the employer.

[smilesalot]

Yes I understand that, thank you for the links blaugrau, I was visiting there as you were replying.
But the union is one thing and then there is reality, I was not thinking on how to protect from being exploited by the employer, but more in the perspective how the employee can use these options to their advantage.

More information, he said that if he only takes the nightshift he will only work 30 hours a week instead of the 37. So will anything after this will be overtime, and if hes working hourly wont he make more money? or are the rules and regulations so strict that this won't happen

I guess Im looking for actual instead of theoretical thanks for the quick responses


smilesalot

Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.
Benjamin Franklin

[sinikettu]

At a location like a bensin station being paid a Fixed Monthly salary is a bit risky.
Because one relies on the "next person" arriving on time.
If one is paid by the hour if they are late, or do not turn in, while one waits...The hours/pay clocks up.

Especialy if one is working the night shift and is supposed to be "off" at 8AM.
Come the cold winter morning when the "next" on shift cannot get his car to start.
Or has the flue...
Or has a hangover..
If you are on fixed monthly salary...you continue to work for free...until the boss can find the replacement.
Hourly pay mean exactly that..you work extra hours you get extra pay.

[Pursuivant]

I think what you are referring to there is kokonaispalkka thats for management.

Basically, "in Finnish" it sounds this way:
hourly worker = part time job
kuukausipalkka = permanent job

now being on a salary (unless you have such a management contract) especially in places where you clock in is you do the average 37,5 hours/week. So if you do over or under some week its usually "evened out" or then paid as overtime or docked depending on how the payroll works. I remember working in a hotel was it now 120 hours per 3 weeks and the pay was twice a month. so in the three weeks you could work 1 week 20 hours and the other 60 and that wasn't still overtime... but it reads in the union contract how it is done.

like I am now working on a kuukausipalkka, and I get my overtime and flex hours, my boss is on such a "no hours counted" salary

so from the Finnish POV it is basically how your work schedule is counted rather than how your salary is counted what the wording means.

[smilesalot]

At a location like a bensin station being paid a Fixed Monthly salary is a bit risky.
Because one relies on the "next person" arriving on time.
If one is paid by the hour if they are late, or do not turn in, while one waits...The hours/pay clocks up.

Especialy if one is working the night shift and is supposed to be "off" at 8AM.
Come the cold winter morning when the "next" on shift cannot get his car to start.
Or has the flue...
Or has a hangover..
If you are on fixed monthly salary...you continue to work for free...until the boss can find the replacement.
Hourly pay mean exactly that..you work extra hours you get extra pay.

Ok I can agree to that, but is that the way it works here in Finland, I know it works that way in the UK or US but here in Suomi but I figured there would be some rules or buerocratic protocol, for example one is supposed to get paid extra for cleaning up human excrement and vomit, so there probably is a rule or a way that one would get paid (most bosses would work it out otherwise they would loose their employee's very quickly).

OK Pursuivant or other Finland forum members does being paid a monthly salary look better on a CV than hourly, when a Finnsh employer (generalization I hate it) sees that the person has a monthly salary he considers them a full time worker, but when they see hourly wage worker they consider that as a part time worker or free lancer not a regular full time worker. So the Employer could very easily decrease a hourly waged employee from full time to part time but when the employee has a monthly salary its harder for the employer to do so. Is that true? that monthly wages is more significant than hourly?

Again I realize its semantics, I think the individual needs to read and understand their contract (thx for the suggest Pursuivant) and if there are misunderstandings they should be clarified. Although I understand that for foreigners just starting to work in Finland, establishing a good CV of work experience in Finland is very beneficial if they plan on staying here long term.



smilesalot

A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one. B. Franklin

[Pursuivant]

same question from the guards:
http://www.kontrolli.fi/keskustelu/show ... php?t=1809
(I think the consensus there is kuukausipalkka)

so, those on hourly salary might not get any hours... but they don't get paid. those on monthly salary get their salary even they aren't assigned shifts, and anything over their 120 hours/3 weeks gets paid as overtime

[raamv]

and those on hourly pay might not be eligible for vacation as opposed to kuukausipalkka!!