Financial mathematics - OCRWages and salaries

Financial maths is needed for all jobs, from calculating wages to working out profit, loss and VAT. Knowledge of financial maths is also required to be able to understand bank statements and savings.

Part of MathsNumber

Wages and salaries

The different parts of a payslip and calculating deductions are explored

Wages are paid by an employer to their staff in return for work. Wages are usually paid weekly or monthly. They are either calculated on a rate of pay per hour or as an annual salary.

In Britain, people should be paid at least the minimum wage rate set by the government. The value of the minimum age varies depending on whether the person working is an apprentice, under the age of 18, or an adult.

If a person earns £5.52 and works 10 hours per week, they would earn £55.20.

Be careful when using a calculator for any financial maths. The previous example on a calculator would be \(5.52 \times 10 = 55.2\) which doesn't make sense.

Ensure that the solution satisfies the normal rules of using money. That means showing the correct units and leaving any amounts left in pounds to 2 decimal places to represent the pence.

In some jobs, people may be paid for any extra hours they work or overtime.

Example

Complete the table.

NameRate of pay per hour - basic wageNumber of hours workedRate of pay per hour - overtimeNumber of hours workedTotal wage
Sophia£2.738£4.003£33.84
Asa£5.1312£6.505
Owen£6.5015£8.20£179.50
NameSophia
Rate of pay per hour - basic wage£2.73
Number of hours worked8
Rate of pay per hour - overtime£4.00
Number of hours worked3
Total wage£33.84
NameAsa
Rate of pay per hour - basic wage£5.13
Number of hours worked12
Rate of pay per hour - overtime£6.50
Number of hours worked5
Total wage
NameOwen
Rate of pay per hour - basic wage£6.50
Number of hours worked15
Rate of pay per hour - overtime£8.20
Number of hours worked
Total wage£179.50

To work out Asa's total wage for the week, multiply the hourly rates by the hours worked: \((\pounds 5.13 \times 12) + (\pounds 6.50 \times 5) = \pounds 94.06\)

To work out how much overtime Owen did, firstly, find Owen's basic wage:

\(\pounds 6.50 \times 15 = \pounds 97.50\)

Find the difference between the basic wage and total wage:

\(\pounds 179.50 - \pounds 97.50 = \pounds 82.00\)

Divide the overtime pay by the hourly rate:

\(\pounds 82.00 \div \pounds 8.20 = 10~\text{hours}\)

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Salary and pay

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