Retail Staff Wage rate

Carrig123

Hi guys

I've recently opened a shop in a medium sized rural town (selling arts & crafts, stationery etc). I need to hire someone to work there with me. I've spoken to a lady who works in a similiar shop in a town nearby and she said she would be interested in working for me.

I know she would be very good, she has several year experience and is good with customers. Her responsibilities would involve serving customers and maybe some ordering from suppliers.

So, I'm wondering how much I should offer to pay her per hour. She would work 4 hours per day, 6 days per week.

I was thinking of giving her €12 per hour, would be a typical rate?

ir555

I would always ask the person first what they would expect and then let the bargaining begin.

You never know they could be on a fairly low salary in their existing wage and may not ask for much. Suprisingly some (very few) people enjoy their job and money is not No. 1.. Maybe the new location makes life much easier for them e.g. less commuting and so less cost to them...

It is easier to offer more afterwards rather than take it back! In return for offering more throw in more roles/ responsibility. Or even an incentive scheme if the employee hits certain targets/ brings in more trade to your business..

Another good strategy is to start off on a certian wage e.g. 11 and then after the 3 month period raise it to 12 as a bonus.. should work wonders in motivation!

Don't forget to factor in your employer PRSI (~11%) and holiday pay (~8%) into your calculations.. could be worng on these costs, so double check with the bean counter!

D

Carrig123

ir555 wrote: »

I would always ask the person first what they would expect and then let the bargaining begin.

You never know they could be on a fairly low salary in their existing wage and may not ask for much. Suprisingly some (very few) people enjoy their job and money is not No. 1.. Maybe the new location makes life much easier for them e.g. less commuting and so less cost to them...

It is easier to offer more afterwards rather than take it back! In return for offering more throw in more roles/ responsibility. Or even an incentive scheme if the employee hits certain targets/ brings in more trade to your business..

Another good strategy is to start off on a certian wage e.g. 11 and then after the 3 month period raise it to 12 as a bonus.. should work wonders in motivation!

Don't forget to factor in your employer PRSI (~11%) and holiday pay (~8%) into your calculations.. could be worng on these costs, so double check with the bean counter!

D

Thanks for getting back to me. She's told me she's getting €15 per hour in her current job. That seems a lot to me, but in fairness she would be very good at her job. At the same time she wouldn't have any huge responsibility, dealing with customers and occasionally ordering with reps and suppliers.

I would be reluctant to pay €15, given it will be a medium size shop in a small town.

YellowSheep

How long is she in her current job. That's most probably why she is getting €15 hour. Also if you know that's she is good and knows what she is doing you might consider this rate. Your labour pool is restricted and hiring muppets for less can be more costly. Regards Oliver

Carrig123

YellowSheep wrote: »

How long is she in her current job. That's most probably why she is getting €15 hour. Also if you know that's she is good and knows what she is doing you might consider this rate. Your labour pool is restricted and hiring muppets for less can be more costly. Regards Oliver

She's been in her current job roughly 10 years, so that's probably why she's being paid that much. I agree, it's obviously a comfort knowing that she will be good at her job. I'm just a small bit reluctant to pay more than €15 (I'll end up having to pay €16, most likely). I feel this is a small bit excessive for someone with fairly minimal responsibilities. Maybe I'm wrong though.

enviro

€15 euro per hour in retail is supervisor, entry level management position money(although normally salary based) or an individual in the role for a long period of time, ie a number of years.

If the job requires very little responsibility or expertise, I would be reluctant to pay such an amount... I would have concern for the long term sustainability of such a commitment and would be very cautious where overheads are concerned considering the economic climate at present and going forward.

Peterdalkey

You also need to be careful with the gross weekly earnings, if they are above Euro352 per week, and 24 hours @ E15/hour is, then the higher rate of employers PRSI kicks in see http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/SW14/sw14_12/Documents/sw14_12.pdf.

It would appear to me, in this market, there is no need to offer E16/hour when there are a lot of good people who would be delighted to have E12/h for a nice part time job. With holiday pay and employer costs. your figure of E16/hour is going to end up around E20/Hour. If your buisiness model is very profitable and this person can bring more business to the shop, it may be a good deal for you, but only you can decide that.


Cheers

Peter

ir555

That's a little high to be forking our for a new venture..

If they are going to work there with you - then you are fortunate to have the time and opportunity to train your own staff...

Time to go searching for a local artist/ craft person who needs a few extra euros and would be keen on the job at a much less rare e.g. €10..

With someone with 10 years experience there are always going to be demanding..

D

The Jman

I would definitely hold interviews first to see if you could get someone as qualified for a lower rate of pay. With the amount of people made redundant lately in the retail sector you would be amazed at the experienced staff that would be willing to work for less than ten Euro an hour. Where I work we just hired someone with 4 yrs experience managing a store in her previous job and she will get roughly 9.50 starting off with us.