Homework Help
Good students ask more questions. eNotes educators are standing by.
Topic: Business
What does "per diem" mean in regards to salary for employment?
I'm looking for a job. I need to know what a job ad means when they say the position is "per diem".
Share this question:
7 Answers | add yours
Teacher
Community / Jr. College
Distinguished Educator, Expert, Instructor, Dickens, The Bard, Churchill, Einstein
The phrase "per diem" means "per day" or "by the day."
In terms of jobs, if the position itself is "per diem" it probably means that it is not steady work. Instead, they will, at best,...
(The entire answer is 106 words.)
This is an expert answer, written by an eNotes educator. To read the entire answer, please join eNotes.
"Per diem" is a phrase taken from Latin meaning per day. It refers to the method of calculating wages to employees or other payments such as fees for consultants.
Payment of wages are calculated on different basis such as per hour, per day, per week and per month. In addition, to these different methods of payment based on time put in on work, The payment can also be on piece rate basis. This means payment based on quantity of work done.
Generally wages are paid per diem basis for temporary, short term asignments rather tah for regular long term jobs.
"Per Diem" can have a few meanings when it comes to employment. The literal translation from the Latin is "per day," and refers to any type of pay or reimbursement that is made by the day.
In general, but not always, per diem work is short-term, temporary work, although there can be exceptions.
If this is a GSA job, you can check the per diem rate here: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287.
Jobs in health care, especially to cover a fulltime employee on leave, are often paid per diem -- you receive a set amount for each day you work.
Heya,
"Per" in Latin means "through." "Diem" is the accusative, male, singular form of "dies," which means "day." So, put together, that would mean "Through day." If you're talking about work and wages, it would probably mean you get paid day by day.
through the day
I work at a hospital, and per diem means that a person is available so many times a month to work a shift. Per Diem employees do not get any benefits so their hourly salary is a little higher than a person that works full-time and has benefits.
It's Latin which translates into "per day". Many organizations in an attempt to hold the line on business costs will offer their employees traveling on business a per diem. They can only spend so much money each day they are away. An example would be: Fay has to leave Dallas to go on business for her company. While in DC. she's told that she has a per diem of $125 which could break down into $25 for breakfast, $40 for lunch and $60 for dinner. That's all she's allowed to spend of the company's money per day, if she spends any at all.
Join to answer this question
Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.
Related Content
Popular Questions
See all »- Give real life examples of a monopoly, perfect competition, oligopoly, monopolistic compitition and duopoly in India.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of a free market economy? as well as the role of needs in the business cycle?
- What does "per diem" mean in regards to salary for employment? I'm looking for a job. I need to know what a job ad means when they...
- What are the types of economic systems?
- Explain the nature of management functions and their importance at different levels of management.


