At That Point
  • home
  • about us
  • our services
  • our work
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News

Know your worth and get the right salary

7/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Are you being paid what you are worth?

Take home salaries must be addressed to ensure that people earn what they are worth. Salary structures are as varied and different as the organisations that pay them. Some are structured to ensure that the employee gains significant financial rewards; others are not.
 
“It is important for the job seeker to understand if the company is offering a basic pay and benefits or if the company is offering a total package (cost to company),” says Nazlie Samodien, South African Rewards Association (SARA) Exco member. “Take home pay can vary depending on how the company’s remuneration is structured. I’ve seen job seekers earning a basic salary of R15, 000, for example, being offered a total package of R20, 000. They are under the impression that they are being offered an increase of more than 30% without knowing that they must now pay for all the benefits from the total package that is being offered.” 

According to Samodien there is no rule of thumb on what to ask for on remuneration, it is dependent on the seniority of the role, the scarcity of skills that the job seeker has, the availability of variable remuneration such as commission and the level of experience that the job seeker has to offer. There are a number of considerations that the employee or job seeker needs to take into consideration before accepting a salary offer.

Establish payment structure
The first is to establish whether or not there is variable pay such as a commission and how the company structures the commission scheme. “I would advise that potential employees ask what the average commission payments have been with other employees in the role over the past six months,” says Samodien. “This will then put them in a better position to understand what measures are used to calculate commission and how hard or easy it will be to earn.”

Consider total earnings
This incorporates any other incentives provided by the business such as bonus payments or long term incentive schemes. An employee can be worse off if they don’t consider these variable pay elements over both the short and long term.

“Depending on what a candidate is sacrificing in their current role they may want to negotiate this on appointment,” says Samodien. “For example, if they are eligible for a bonus with their current employer and the payment is imminent, you can negotiate an on-appointment bonus with the new company. It is also worthwhile asking the new company for a mock payslip so that it is obvious to see what will be paid into the bank account once all the deductions have been made.”

“Depending on the role, the successful candidate may need to do a lot of travel and a company car or fuel card may need to be factored in,” says Samodien. “Then there is medical aid, retirement plans and income protection benefits for the employee in the event of death or disability. It is worth asking what the returns on the retirement funds have been over the past five years and what the taxes on these benefits will be.”

Work/life balance
In addition, it is important that the employee establish those aspects of work-life balance that they need to thrive. Many organisations offer gyms, crèches, wellness centres and more, ensuring that their staff have opportunities to unwind or look after their children.

Performance incentives
“Some employers have outstanding recognition programmes that are linked to performance and that can include overseas trips and these form part of the employee value proposition,” concludes Samodien. “Job seekers need to consider all of the reward elements that are on offer, especially if the pay element is not quite what was expected, to determine if the long term benefits will outweigh the short term salary sacrifice.”

ENDS
​

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  

For more information on SARA please visit:
Website: www.sara.co.za  
Twitter: @SA_reward
LinkedIn: South African Reward Association
Facebook: SARA – South African Reward Association
0 Comments
    Welcome to the SARA newsroom. 

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Welcome to the South African Reward Association newsroom.

    Categories

    All
    2016 SARA Reward Awards
    2016 South African Reward Association Conference
    2021 SARA Reward Awards
    4IR
    ABSA
    Anglo AMerican
    Board
    Bridgestone
    CCMA
    Chris Blair
    Corruption
    Covid 19
    Covid-19
    Deon Smit
    Digital
    Disruption
    Dr Mark Bussin
    Dr Ronel Nienaber
    Economic Growth
    Economy
    Education
    Employee Empowerment
    Employee Engagement
    Employee Experience Management
    Employee Performance Management
    Employers
    Employment Equity Act
    Executive Bonuses
    Executive Pay
    Executive Remuneration
    Female Employees
    Financial And Non Financial Rewards
    Financial And Non-financial Rewards
    Fixed Pay
    Flexibility
    FNB
    Gender Inequality
    Gender Pay Gap
    Global Workforce
    Goldfields
    Governance
    Incentives
    Inequality
    Inflation
    International Mobility
    Jerry Botha
    Job Retention
    Job Security
    Job Seekers
    Kevan Hawley
    Khokhela Consulting
    Kim Lombard
    King IV
    Laurence Grubb
    Lindiwe Sebesho
    Living Wage
    Marie Claire Mclachlan
    Marie-Claire Mclachlan
    Martin Hopkins
    Mental Wellness
    Minimum Wage
    Morag Phillips
    Mr Price Group
    MTN
    Muhammed Goolab
    Nazlie Samodien
    Negotiating Salary
    Nicol Mullins
    Openserve
    Pay Discrepancies
    Pay Gap
    Peet Kruger
    Performance Management
    PwC
    Remote Working
    Remuneration
    Remuneration Resolutions
    Remuneration Voting
    Reward Awards
    Reward Systems
    Salary Negotiation
    SARA
    SARA Conference 2015
    SARA Conference 2020
    Shareholder Votes
    South African Reward Association
    Standard Bank
    Technology
    Termination Pay
    The South African Reserve Bank
    Total Reward Internship Programme
    Total Reward Package
    Total Rewards Model
    Total Reward Strategy
    UIF
    Vaccination
    Variable Pay
    Wage Freeze
    Wage Negotiations
    WFH
    Women In Business
    Women's Day
    WorldatWork
    World Of Work
    Yolanda Sedlmaier
    Zondo Report
    Zuma

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US

office [at] atthatpoint [dot] co [dot] za
© COPYRIGHT 2022
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  • home
  • about us
  • our services
  • our work
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News