What Are Golden Handcuffs?
Golden handcuffs are incentives that retain talent via deferred bonuses or equity. Learn examples, risks, and how to balance flexibility with commitment.
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Payroll and Labor Cost Guides, page 2
Convert approved hours into accurate pay, control overtime, and understand the labor cost behind each job and shift.
49 articles
Payroll & Labor Costs articles, page 2
49 articles
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What Is Earned Wage Access?
Earned wage access lets team members access wages before payday. See models, typical fees, compliance considerations, and best practices for offering on-demand pay.
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What Are Benefit Deductions?
Benefit deductions are pre-tax or post-tax amounts withheld for health, retirement, and other benefits. See types, calculations, paycheck examples, and compliance tips.
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What Is On-Call Pay?
On-call pay compensates availability and call-out work. Learn rates, FLSA factors, standby vs. call-back rules, examples, and how to schedule compliant rotations.
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What Does Paid in Arrears Mean?
Paid in arrears means wages are paid after the period worked. Learn payroll timing, examples, pros/cons, key rules, and how to explain arrears on paychecks.
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What Is a Pay Group?
A pay group organizes team members by pay frequency or policy. Learn setup steps, payroll impacts, benefit deductions, and management best practices.
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What Is a Signing Bonus?
A signing bonus is a one-time payment to accept an offer. Learn market ranges, repayment clauses, taxation, and how to use bonuses to improve acceptance.
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What Is a Discretionary Bonus?
Learn what discretionary bonuses mean (employer-determined performance rewards with no contractual obligation), how they differ from non-discretionary bonuses, tax implications, legal considerations, and best practices for fair implementation.
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What Is Variable Pay?
Learn what variable pay means (performance-based compensation including commissions, bonuses, profit sharing), types of variable pay structures, benefits, challenges, tax implications, and best practices for implementation.
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What Is Voluntary Overtime?
Learn what voluntary overtime means (optional extra hours beyond standard schedule), how it differs from mandatory overtime, FLSA pay requirements (time-and-a-half after 40 hours), benefits, challenges, and implementation best practices.
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What Is a Travel Allowance?
Learn what travel allowance means (compensation for business travel expenses), 2024 IRS mileage rate ($0.67/mile), per diem rates ($59-$107 daily), types including mileage reimbursement and lodging allowances, tax treatment, documentation requirements, and policy best practices.
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What Is a Salary Sacrifice Car Scheme?
Learn what salary sacrifice car schemes mean (trading pre-tax salary for company vehicle), tax savings (20-40% lower costs vs personal purchase), how lease arrangements work, eligibility requirements, benefit-in-kind calculations, and comparison with car allowances and mileage reimbursement.
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What Is Broadbanding in Compensation?
Learn what broadbanding means (consolidating salary grades into fewer, wider pay bands), how it differs from traditional structures, implementation steps, benefits (flexibility, lateral growth), challenges (compression risk), and best practices for modern compensation systems.
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What Is Double Time Pay?
Learn what double time pay means in payroll, when workers earn 2× their hourly rate, California's strict double time requirements (after 12 hours/day or 8 hours on 7th day), federal holiday pay practices, and how to calculate double time correctly.
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What Is Shift Differential Pay?
Learn what shift differential means in payroll, how premium pay for nights, weekends, and holidays works, typical differential rates (10–25% or $1–$5/hour), when it's required vs voluntary, and strategies to structure competitive shift differential policies.
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What Is Premium Pay?
Learn what premium pay means in workforce management, common types (overtime, shift differentials, hazard pay), typical rates (1.5x–2.5x base), legal requirements under FLSA, and how to calculate premium wages.
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What Was Advanced Earned Income Credit?
Learn what the Advanced Earned Income Credit (AEIC) was—a discontinued IRS program (ended 2011) that allowed low-income workers to receive estimated EITC in paychecks throughout the year instead of waiting for tax refunds. Understand why it ended, how current EITC works (one annual refund up to $7,830 for families with 3+ children), and modern alternatives like on-demand pay.
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What Is Annualized Salary?
Learn what annualized salary means (total yearly compensation), how to convert hourly to annual ($20/hour × 2,080 hours = $41,600/year), differences between exempt salaried and non-exempt salaried employees, benefits of annual pay, calculating true compensation including bonuses and benefits, and salary negotiation strategies.
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What Is an Earnings Threshold?
Learn what earnings thresholds are—minimum income requirements to qualify for benefits, tax credits, or protections. Examples include Social Security credits ($1,730 per credit, 4 credits/year maximum = $6,920 total), ACA employer mandate (30 hours/week threshold), unemployment eligibility (varies by state), EITC income limits, and 401(k) vesting requirements (typically 1,000 hours/year).
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What Is Redundancy Pay?
Learn what redundancy pay (severance) is for layoffs and position eliminations, typical formulas (1-2 weeks per year of service), WARN Act requirements (60 days notice for mass layoffs at employers with 100+ workers), continuation of benefits, state-specific requirements, and negotiation strategies for severance packages.
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