Salary or fee?

Salary and fee words can get confused and the word fee is used in a variety of ways. Salary is paid for work done in an employment relationship. Remuneration can be based on time (hourly wage or monthly salary) or work performance and the outcome. Fees, such as writing or lecture fees, can be paid both in employment and as an entrepreneur. If the recipient of the fee is employed, then the fee, despite its name, is salary.

When agreeing on work, attention must be paid to how compensation for the work done is proposed to be paid. From the employee’s point of view, this is relevant because pensions and the employer’s social security contribution must be paid from the salary, not from compensation for work.