ParamedicStudent
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Which is better?
I mostly agree. It depends upon your base pay, your shift length, if your employer pays OT after a certain number of hours on shift or if you're on "straight time to 40" (which also loops back to shift length) and how many hours you get per week. Way back when, I used to work what would now be considered HUGE hours - 60+ hours per week. We did "straight to 40" so any hours after 40 were paid at an OT rate. It was a very easy thing for me to get 60 (or more) because I'd work a 24 hour shift and either three 12's or another 24 and a 12. Now if you're limited to, say 40 hours per week with very rare opportunity to go past that, then you might do better with a higher base hourly pay with a daily OT. If it's very easy to blow past 40 and ascend into the stratosphere with hours, then you might very easily do better with a lower base pay as most of your paycheck could come from the OT.There isn’t a set answer as it’s going to depend on what your pay is for both the daily overtime and the higher hourly pay. If it’s $19/hr vs $21/hr then you will make more per shift at the lower rate with OT assuming a 12 hour shift.
Now if it’s $16/hr vs $21/hr then the higher hourly will make you more per shift.
That’s not how daily OT works. For company A you are scheduled for a 12 hour shift with all 12 hours being paid at a standard rate. For company B you are scheduled for a 12 hour shift with 8 hours being paid at the standard rate and 4 hours being paid at the OT rate.high hourly, no debate.
I can do without daily OT; and if I want OT, I can always pick it up.
I'd rather have more money without working extra hours.
A high(er) hourly pay, when comparing two (or more) jobs that pay hourly may or may not actually pay you more... you really do have to look at how they structure how your working hours. IF you work four 12's and you're 8 straight w/ 4 OT, you very well could end up doing better than that if they recognize that after 40 they pay OT anyway. Under this scheme you're on the clock for 12 every shift. Three 12's plus four gets you to 40 so, your pay could end up looking something like 28 (8+8+8+4) straight and 20 (4+4+4+8) OT.With that being said, this built-in OT increases the "average" 48 hour workweek from 40 + 8 to 32 + 16, so it's a bit of a difference.
High hourly pay still wins though, because you can take that higher pay rate for the same money for less hours OR rake in more for your precious time.