Pros and Cons of salary pay vs hourly for Retail Pharmacists?

[rxkrafted]

What are the pros and cons of salary pay vs hourly? (Particularly in a retail setting)

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[trailerpark]

You want hourly pay so you get time and a half for over 40 hours a week, but if your in a saturated market then maybe salary would be better for you if it can guarantee you 72 or 80 hours per pay period. I want hourly because in my district there have been shortages and I've been paid a lot to pick up overtime.

 

[radio frequency]

Pros of salary: Not sure

Cons of salary: You probably will work more than 40 hours and not be paid for it. Any additional hours over forty are generally not at time and a half (if you actually get paid for them).

 

[wagrxm2000]

Nothing, only way it would benefit is if overtime pay was different. Anyone who is salary and stays over is a fool.

 

[rxkrafted]

How about if you pick up extra hours at different stores?

 

[wagrxm2000]

If you are salary and pick up a shift and you go over your regular hours you get time plus whatever your company decides. This is the same as if you are hourly.

 

[radio frequency]

Except most companies cap the extra you'd make when you are salaried to something like $3/HR extra.

 

[trailerpark]

@walmart hourly gets time and a half and salary gets a pitiful extra 3 dollars

 

[mustang sally]

Salary is good if you work in a position where you have more flexibility with your hours and a boss who actually lets you leave early or go to a dentist appointment without freaking out about it. I think this is pretty rare to find, but it is my situation.

Also you really need a position where you can stick to forty hours a week, otherwise you are getting ripped off.

Biggest con for me is I never get overtime or a holiday differential, pay is always the same.

 

[panasoniku]

When I used to be RXM at a major retailer, I was salaried for 84 hours over a pay period. The 4 extra hours were "office hours" to either clean up, inventory, manage staff, etc. If you are efficient you will rarely stay the extra 4 hours per pay period and you still get the $$$. For example, I would schedule myself 9-5 and my partner 3-9. If the day goes well and I work hard, I would try to leave around 4 .

Hourly is great but if you have stuff you need to get done outside of regular day duties you'll have to fit it in somehow. If you go into OT your supervisor will be breathing fire down your back...

 

[Dred Pirate]

Pros of salary: Not sure

Cons of salary: You probably will work more than 40 hours and not be paid for it. Any additional hours over forty are generally not at time and a half (if you actually get paid for them).

pro's of salary?
You have an appointment - you can leave work and not be docked pay. You are all caught up and a slow day? You leave early. You get sick 3 hours into your shift, you go home, you don't get docked pay. Obviously these only apply to hospital vs retail.

con's - you stay late - you don't get paid. You come in early, you don't get paid.

We are a hybird - we are salary-but if we pick up an extra shift or stay late when somebody calls out - we get paid, just not time and a half

 

[radio frequency]

pro's of salary?
You have an appointment - you can leave work and not be docked pay. You are all caught up and a slow day? You leave early. You get sick 3 hours into your shift, you go home, you don't get docked pay. Obviously these only apply to hospital vs retail.

con's - you stay late - you don't get paid. You come in early, you don't get paid.

We are a hybird - we are salary-but if we pick up an extra shift or stay late when somebody calls out - we get paid, just not time and a half

Yeah...these unfortunately aren't applicable to retail at all.

 

[rxkrafted]

So what happens if you're having a slow week and leave a little early on some days of the week and don't meet 40 hours?

 

[TheBlaah]

So what happens if you're having a slow week and leave a little early on some days of the week and don't meet 40 hours?

You're paid the same as if you worked 40 hours. But whether you can leave or not depends on your job policy/supervisor.

Edit: The most likely setting where you'll be able to leave early would be an outpatient clinic where you would have set appointments to meet.

 

[pezdispenser]

In retail, salaried mostly means that they are guaranteed to schedule you a certain number of hours every week, e.g. 40 hours, but 32 hrs is also common these days.

Even a floater can be salaried, so if there ends up being no sick/vacation shifts needing coverage, they may just put you as mid-shift or double coverage somewhere to make up your guaranteed hours.

If you pick up extra shifts you will still get paid, usually your same hourly rate +$3-10/hr extra. The law only requires time and a half overtime pay for hourly workers.

Usually you don't punch in and out because you will be paid according to your schedule. If you stay before or after your scheduled shift you will not get paid. But because in retail, the work closely corresponds to the opening hours of the pharmacy, the company would be opening themselves to lawsuits if they made you do tons of work outside of opening hours and not on your paid schedule. So, sometimes you are scheduled and paid a few minutes to open and close the pharmacy.

If you have overlap with another pharmacist, you may be able to leave early. Or if you are a staff pharmacist in one store, you can work out to flex or make up time with your partner.

If you get sick and need to leave halfway through your shift, you will still get paid for your whole shift.

 

[wagrxm2000]

Basically what everyone is saying is you want to be salary

 

[farmadiazepine]

These terms are used so poorly nowadays with pharmacists and pay. Salary should mean being paid a set amount of money per year, regardless of hours worked. There is usually no punch in time, punch out time, or days per week required to work. How many pharmacists are salaried? Not too many. Those who are actually may be clinical positions, drug companies, but not your typical retail or staff hospital pharmacist, and if so, they are getting the worse part of the deal.

Hourly pay is most common for retail pharmacists and staff hospital pharmacists. The advantages are time and a half or some sort of premium pay of hours over 40 or hours over base, and how much you work is how much you get paid. You don't work alot, you won't get paid alot. You work alot, you get paid alot.

There is no advantage for retail pharmacists to be paid salary. Why would you work 60 hours in a week, only to be paid for 40? And you don't have any option to work 30 hours in a week or close your store early or come in late. It boggles my mind, and makes no sense.

 

[owlegrad]

Basically what everyone is saying is you want to be salary

Sarcasm? Being hourly is awesome unless you hate time and a half for overtime.

 

[wagrxm2000]

These terms are used so poorly nowadays with pharmacists and pay. Salary should mean being paid a set amount of money per year, regardless of hours worked. There is usually no punch in time, punch out time, or days per week required to work. How many pharmacists are salaried? Not too many. Those who are actually may be clinical positions, drug companies, but not your typical retail or staff hospital pharmacist, and if so, they are getting the worse part of the deal.

Hourly pay is most common for retail pharmacists and staff hospital pharmacists. The advantages are time and a half or some sort of premium pay of hours over 40 or hours over base, and how much you work is how much you get paid. You don't work alot, you won't get paid alot. You work alot, you get paid alot.

There is no advantage for retail pharmacists to be paid salary. Why would you work 60 hours in a week, only to be paid for 40? And you don't have any option to work 30 hours in a week or close your store early or come in late. It boggles my mind, and makes no sense.

Do you work retail? Walgreens is salary and you get paid overtime.

 

[Corpseman]

Do you work retail? Walgreens is salary and you get paid overtime.

Base + $10?

 

[wagrxm2000]

Base + $10?

Yes

 

[trailerpark]

I prefer hourly. There is some staffing issues in my district at the moment and time and a half is a beautiful thing on a pharmacist's hourly wage.

 

[farmadiazepine]

Do you work retail? Walgreens is salary and you get paid overtime.

This is what I mean when I say these terms are used poorly nowadays. You are "salaried and get paid overtime" ... Sure.

So you can come in whenever you want? You can leave early whenever you want? You can choose not to come in one day as long as your work got done the day before? I am sure the answer to all these questions are "No". You are getting paid a set amount of money to work a set amount of hours, and you are getting paid overtime for going over those hours. This essentially means you are getting paid like an hourly employee. If you work 66 hours one week, you are paid for 66 hours. If you work 30 hours one week, you are paid for 30 hours.

 

[wagrxm2000]

No one would pick up shifts if there was no overtime. Oh and most of those questions are yes except not coming in at all. My base is 84 but I work around 80.

 

[ancienbon]

No one would pick up shifts if there was no overtime. Oh and most of those questions are yes except not coming in at all. My base is 84 but I work around 80.

Lucky you. It is not possible at my cvs. There is no overlapping at my cvs that now does over 2600 scripts a week. In florida wags stopped taking humana,sunshine , and molina. And i practice in a highly medicaid population

 

[TheBlaah]

Those who are actually may be clinical positions, drug companies, but not your typical retail or staff hospital pharmacist, and if so, they are getting the worse part of the deal.

I wouldn't necessarily say that. I may be the outlier, but the staff pharmacists at my location are scheduled to work for fewer hours than 40, but are paid for 40.