weekend differential pay

[CurlyDoodle]

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 🐾

[CareyJo]

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 

[CurlyDoodle]

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 😊.

[CareyJo]

Awesome!!  So cute!!

[DinaLRosenberg]

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.

[CurlyDoodle]

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. 

[VanKalkerFarms · Accepted solution]

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.  

[CurlyDoodle]

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.

[CareyJo]

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!

[CareyJo]

When you posted that two weeks ago, I was so flabbergasted.  That is a HUGE hourly wage!  But I guess it's just relative to the area you live in.  For anyone here to be making that kind of money, they've got a degree and/or they've been there a long time.  When my husband left his last employer before we went back to being self-employed, he was only making $23.50 an hour, he has a degree and he's a master level technician.  And although that was 8 years ago, the pay for those who remain has not increased much.  People do not get paid what they're worth here.  Most people I know, are making under 20 ph, no matter the industry.  For years, my husband has said that people that work HVAC like us, would change employers for a 10-20 cent raise!  Keeping employees has been difficult here for years!  

[VanKalkerFarms]

I am in one of the poorest cities in Illinois (ford heights), surrounded by others in the poorest cites also.  But minimum wage is $15 an hour in our county and you won't even get an application if that is what you are offering.  Our base starting pay is $19.57 (yes a weird number but that is dicatated by the federal government becuase we also have H2A workers, and no american can make less than the mandatory wage for the H2A workers).  I have some employees that have been with me over 20 years making close to $30. 

[ChickenRacer]

I don't find that number weird at all, us Aussies have a heap of those kind of numbers with wages. 

[CurlyDoodle]

We have different numbers also in California. Minimum wage in my city is $16.50, but it's $17.87 in nearby Santa Rosa. Minimum wage for fast food workers is $20, why I'm not sure! There are also differentials for late hours, hazards, etc. Some are law while others are more union agreements. Sonoma County has determined that a "living wage" is $23.15 and must be paid if the private company contracts with the County. Lots of numbers 🙃.

[CareyJo]

I don't know how y'all manage with all of that... I haven't learned our MT laws yet but I will be soon, as we will soon have employees.  I do know though, that we don't have all sorts of standards like that and varying amounts.

[VanKalkerFarms]

Yeah, though, to put it into perspective, your $30 is equal to our $20 currently.  But the way we are going, it may become a better exchange 

Extremely Hot take as a business owner, but I am ok with employees making a good wage, but it is also complicated when we start segmenting out that fast food workers make X when that X is more than, say, an Ambulance EMT makes etc.  I shouldn't want to live my life with multiple vehicles and going on vacation and affording to put my kids thru college so they aren't debt ridden, etc, on the backs of paying the people that are in the trenches as low a wage as is possible.  Sadly paying someone $20 an hour sounds like a ton, but nowadays that isn't much at all when you look at things like housing costs or even rent.  And how can I expect to keep good people who know what they are doing if I am rotating through people making the minimum wage every 3 months? I show them that I put in the hours and work even longer than them so they see I am part of it with them and not just sitting in my house barking orders over email so that helps with more of a sense of hey, the boss just thanked me for helping him on the floor running this machine. I know it is complicated and businesses are running tight ships with input costs up and labor up etc.  I know it is way more nuanced than just this single paragraph but just thought of it when thinking about wages.

[CareyJo]

I was actually thinking about this yesterday.  It's so sad that we now have to have both parents working to support a family anymore and most of the time that is still not enough.  I was also thinking about how that amount sounds so high and yet doesn't yield enough for the family living on it.  Many years ago, my husband had to take a short term job and a huge pay cut to be working.  We had a family of 5 surviving on $ 9.50 an hour and no benefits.  Looking back, I truly don't know how I made it work but we survived it.

[doc_choc]

Here in the UK we have a minimum wage or as they now call it 'National Living Wage' of £12.21 ($16.41) per hour for over 21's. The government keeps banging this up year on year as its not a bill they pay, it's business that pays and it increases their revenues from income tax. But the crunch comes when the government have to pay their employees, civil servants, NHS doctors etc etc. they are not willing to foot the increased bill so the difference between a professional like a doctor and say a minimum wage worker is narrowing. So professionals are questioning is it worth it when they get paid almost as well with the minimum wage, why have a stressful job.

Not very well thought through by the government here. In fact thinking about not even the minimum wage worker gains as we all have to increase our prices to pay for it, so their cost of living goes up. So what is supposed to help those on a lower income in my opinion doesn't seem to help. Its a popular one with the voter as they think they are getting paid better and in real terms they are not. It's just all a bit messy. I'm sure it will sort itself out one day....hopefully 😊

[CareyJo]

Wow!

[CareyJo]

Holy Hannah!!  Interesting to see the vast differences across our states!

[CurlyDoodle]

In Sonoma County, the cost of living is very high. Many young people stay with parents or leave the area because of it. Our mandated minimum wage is $16.50, but even teenagers won't work for that. I start at $20 because it is more reasonable and because it is the minimum wage for fast food restaurants! I want to pay better than Taco Bell 😄. 

I was chatting with a friend about this and mentioned if there is nothing to do at the end of the day, say because of a cancellation, I will let the employee go home but still pay. She said I don't have to do that, and I replied that incentive is as important as mandate. If the employee has blocked out that time in their day, they should be paid for  it. 

[CareyJo]

Holy cow!!!

That is awfully kind of you!  What a great way to retain people!!!  Kuddos!!