Salary

Laun og vinnutími

Payslips are written confirmation of your wages and include deductions made by the employer, such as taxes. Everyone should receive a payslip when wages are paid.

While situations may vary slightly for different trade and professional unions the following generally applies regarding salary and hours:

• The minimum wage for each position is settled on by an agreement made by each trade union with the employers’ representatives. Your wages should never be lower than that which is stated in this agreement.

• Regular daytime wages (dagvinnukaup) are paid for the first 8 hours of each workday. Working days are considered to be from Monday to Friday.  The typical workday is from 8:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m.  Any work done after the required 8 hours during one workday is considered to be overtime (yfirvinnakaup), and should be paid accordingly. In some situations working on Saturday or Sunday is also considered as working overtime. 

• For public holidays that fall on a weekday, daytime wages are paid.  In most situations if you work during a holiday you will receive both daytime and overtime wages. 

• For other major holidays there is yet another wage schedule (stórhátiðakaup).  If you work on Christmas Day (jóladag), Easter Sunday (páskadag), New Years Day (nýársdag), Whit Sunday/Pentecost (hvítasunnudag) or the 17th of June, ask what your wages should be as they are sometimes considerably more.   The same applies if you work after 12:00 in the afternoon on Christmas Eve (aðfangadag) and New Years Eve (gamlársdag). 

• It should be noted that the rules governing working hours and salaries paid on legal and contractual holidays may be different for those who work in shifts. For workers in this category, there may be special shift bonuses paid in addition to the fixed salary. There may also be special conditions regarding winter vacations.

• Remember that the wage schedule agreed upon by your union or professional society refers only to minimum wages and conditions, and therefore you can not legally be hired for lower wages than that stipulated in that agreement.  On the other hand, it is possible for an individual to negotiate for higher wages and better conditions. 

• Flat Wages (jafnaðarkaup)­ – Some employers offer a flat wage, that is, they pay the same rate whether you work on the day shift, night shift, or on weekends.  Flat wages are not part of the minimum wage agreement package and are illegal. In most cases, it is slightly more than minimum wage for regular day wages, but not as much as the overtime rate.  Individuals should be careful to ensure that the salary offered is in accordance with the minimum wage.  Remember that it is illegal for employers to pay anything less than minimum wage and it is, therefore, not advisable to accept any such offer.  If after pointing this out to the employer, they do not change their offer, contact your union or The Labour Association (Alþýðusambandið).