thread Re: weekend differential pay in Staff & Payroll

weekend differential pay

CurlyDoodle — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 13:59:12 GMT

Hi Everyone!

I am a dog groomer in NorCal. I have been using Square since I opened and I love it.

The business is growing and I recently added the modules for team and payroll. I am currently open Saturdays and plan to be open 7 days a week when fully staffed. I would like to offer a pay differential for weekends, since naturally that's when everyone wants to be free.

Do any of you have a shift differential? If so, how much extra do you pay?

Thanks 🐾

Re: weekend differential pay

CareyJo — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 01:03:25 GMT

Hello!! I like your user name!!

We do not have employees, so I cannot speak to this but I'm wondering if a few Champs out there can answer. @VanKalkerFarms @Lovewell @DinaLRosenberg @TheRealChipA @ChickenRacer

Re: weekend differential pay

DinaLRosenberg — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 12:59:10 GMT

Hi There!

No shift differential but we offer OT (as required by law), 401K & Health Insurance.

If you have employees that are paid different rate- perhaps a % differential would work better than a flat hourly? So perhaps a 15% differential would be attractive.

Re: weekend differential pay

CurlyDoodle — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 13:36:06 GMT

Thanks! Doodles are here to stay so I figured if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Although ironically most of my business is Maltipoos, little white dogs 😊.

Re: weekend differential pay

CurlyDoodle — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 13:37:42 GMT

Thanks Dina!

I was kind of thinking percentage. Groomers have 101 crazy ways to pay staff which I don't do! Competitive hourly wage + tips.

Re: weekend differential pay

VanKalkerFarms — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:43:09 GMT

We offer a Sunday bonus of $5 an hour to get enough staff. People are burned out, but $27 an hour sounds a lot better than $22, so it can drive a lot that wouldn't. It started as a $3 an hour bonus, but over time, it has taken a bit more nudging to get it.

We "just" started being open on Sundays in May when I bought out my parents' business about 10+ years ago. All other competitive businesses in the area are closed on Sunday because this was a highly dense area of Dutch and Sunday is a big no-no. Well, I broke that mold, and over the time we have been open, we have built it into the 3rd busiest day.

Re: weekend differential pay

CareyJo — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 15:09:48 GMT

Awesome!! So cute!!

Re: weekend differential pay

CurlyDoodle — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 12:51:56 GMT

Very interesting! I imagine every area has a culture within which one finds challenges and advantages. I recently opened Labor Day because my employee had the day off and wanted to work (she is finishing high school). We had a busy day! Although I have a full schedule, due to cancellations and changes I do have last-minute availability which folks will snatch up through the online booking system. The other groomers in town are still using the telephone and day planner.

You've given me something to think about with the dollar amount differential. I want something which not only IS good for staff, but LOOKS good. For example, most people think a $500 bonus is better value than a $1 raise because they don't do the math.

Re: weekend differential pay

TheRealChipA — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 13:22:37 GMT

Interesting topic. I own an ice cream shop, so some weekend and holiday work are pretty much mandatory. That's just the way it is in hospitality. We compound that by the fact that during the summer, we DO NOT close for holidays. I mean, it's ice cream. People want ice cream on summer holidays. In all honesty, people was to go to restaurants and bars on holidays, too. Of course, when I hire I make it perfectly clear that weekend and holiday hours are just part of the job and, if they take the offer, they do so with that knowledge. I do allow them to tell me one weekend day that they can't work and make that part of their unavailability, but that's the limit of what I do.

That being said, when I'm asking something out of the ordinary in a given week from an employee, they get rewarded somehow. It might be PTO hours to use freely in the future. It might be extra pay or some sort of bonus. It helps that I rarely deny time off requests. I learned a long time ago (with high school and college folks) to overhire and keep all positions part-time. That way I can let them have time off for family vacations, concerts, etc, and still have plenty of people to pick up the slack. My employees find that to be one of the real perks of working for me -- flexibility within reason but still having a solid predictable job.

So, for me, it's not about differentials as much as it is about flexibility and respect for the fact they have lives. I make it clear that if they meet me halfway on this, they won't be disappointed.

Not really on topic, of course, @CurlyDoodle.. But maybe it has some bearing on what you are asking.

Re: weekend differential pay

CareyJo — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 14:27:14 GMT

I think this is so fantastic! That is an awesome way to acknowledge that your people need to have a life and yet still work, while meeting your needs and showing them you care. I don't think that employers realize often enough how important it is to keep their people happy and retain them. I've seen this failure far too often... both as an outsider and employee.

Re: weekend differential pay

CareyJo — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 14:28:57 GMT

This is a prime example of how good Square tools can be - you said that most people are still using the phone and a planner. You're using an online Square tool. For me, in our industry, it just doesn't work. But it does for you and that's fantastic!

Re: weekend differential pay

ChickenRacer — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 02:43:40 GMT

Australia is very different, we don't have tipping (or at least it's only minor). In hospitality, staff get a rate for Mon-Friday (around $34), a rate for Sat(around $40), a rate for Sun(around $48). Plus they get more again public holidays, and after 7pm, and after midnight.

It's a nightmare for small businesses to try and work all this out from a payroll point of view.

Also makes it hard for small businesses, as people want you to be open on holidays/Sundays etc, but don't want to wear staff surcgarges!

Re: weekend differential pay

CareyJo — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 14:20:46 GMT

That's insane! I can't imagine how hard that would be to manage! Why in the world would they do that to you guys!?! That doesn't sound like good economical planning.

Re: weekend differential pay

ChickenRacer — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 03:12:26 GMT

The irony is, it's much more complicated then that haha, I was giving the cliff notes. Friends of friends are about to be fined big money, as they were "underpaying staff". They actually technically paid them more then they were entitled to, but wasn't categorised properley. Because of all the drama, they have lost staff

Re: weekend differential pay

CareyJo — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:38:17 GMT

That is so incredibly sad and unfair 😔

Re: weekend differential pay

ChickenRacer — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 01:31:58 GMT

Yes, governements can be fun

Re: weekend differential pay

CareyJo — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:31:59 GMT

IKR!?! We, as a humanity, often think the grass is greener on the other side, but it's really just our vantage point.

Re: weekend differential pay

Lovewell — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 19:26:14 GMT

Hi!
not an expert but we are in California 🙂

In California you cannot do differential pay (as in more for weekends) because once you bump someone up you can’t take them back down.

But- I believe you can do holiday pay (we are closed most holidays so we don’t do this) but I know when I’ve had other jobs we had holiday pay. Basically adding on an extra “average day”

to their pay! So if they typically work 5 hours then had an extra 5 hours onto their pay.

Re: weekend differential pay

doc_choc — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 08:24:24 GMT

Employment law is such a mine field these days. It maybe worth finding an HR freelance/consultant for advice. Its a cost but you don't want it coming back to bite you.

Re: weekend differential pay

CurlyDoodle — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 13:19:49 GMT

I spoke at a conference in Australia in 2017 and remember the no tipping! My friend who accompanied me thought they were being polite and kept trying to tip!

I imagine Square had tools to sort out all the different pay rates.