Business English: How to Talk about Money

In this lesson, we are going to focus on the difference between earnings, income, salary, wage(s), pay and allowance. 


EARNINGS [plural noun] = net income

You can use the word 'earnings' to talk about the total amount of money you earn from any job that you do. The amount of money is usually different each month or year. 

Examples: 

• Her net earnings last year were $16,800. (= after tax has been paid) 
• Apple reported earnings of $53.3 billion in the third quarter of 2018. 
• Apple's earnings per share are now $2.34. (EPS = net income / average outstanding common shares) 
• According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the average weekly earnings for men in November 2017 were $1,753.50, and $1,429.80 for women. 
• The average weekly earnings of 16- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. in 2016 were around $400. 

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INCOME 

This is the money you receive regularly for doing your job or from a business or investments. 

Examples: 

• What's your weekly/monthly/annual income? 
• My parents' annual income is over $30,000. 
• People living in rural areas rely on farming for income. 
• These families have no source of income when the harvest is over. (source of income = way of earning money) 
• You can always take on extra work to increase your income. (to take something on = to decide to do something) 
• The company's net income for the third quarter of 2018 was $11.52 billion compared to $8.72 billion a year ago. 

SALARY 

This is the money that you receive regularly for doing your job. It's usually paid to you every month. 
We use the word 'salary' when we talk about professional jobs such as managers, teachers, doctors, etc. 

Examples: 

• I get a basic salary and other benefits on top. 
• My dad earns a good salary as a software developer. 
• I joined the company in 2016 on a salary of €58,000 a year. (be on a salary) 
• Employee salaries are paid directly into their bank account. 
• The starting salary for an architect in the U.S. is around $50,000. (= the salary someone gets when they start a job) 
• The average salary for a Team Leader in the UK is around £24,000 per year.  

WAGES [often plural] (also WAGE) 

The money that someone is paid every week by their employer. We often use this word when we talk about working in a shop or factory. 

Examples: 

• Some companies pay lower wages to female workers. (pay a wage) 
• Workers in the UK paid per task or piece of work they do should be paid at least the minimum wage for every hour worked. (= It's the lowest amount of money that an employer can pay someone according to the law.) 
• Many states in the U.S. have different minimum wages. 

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PAY [noun] 

You can use this word to refer to the money you receive for doing your job. 

Examples: 

• Some people work extremely hard and get no pay. (get/receive pay) 
• Even though I work long hours, the pay is pretty good. 
• The average pay for a Travel Agent is around $36,000 a year. 
• The hourly pay for baristas at Starbucks is $9, and $12 for shift supervisors. 
• When you start working for a company, you are entitled to sick pay. This is a basic right you have as an employee. (= pay that you get when you are ill and cannot work) 
• Employees in the UK are entitled to redundancy pay if they've been working for their current employer for 2 years or more. (= pay when there is no longer a job for you) 
• Women in the UK and Ireland get some of the worst maternity pay in Europe. (= pay while a woman takes time off to have a baby)
• All the employees are out on strike because they have been working without pay for the last month. 

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ALLOWANCE 

This word is used to talk about money that someone receives regularly for a special reason without having to work to earn it. 

Examples: 

• Many companies provide clothing allowances to their employees. 
• Employers should provide their employees with a uniform allowance to purchase the uniform, so that they don't have to pay for it. 
• Many companies offer 24/7 services and employees sometimes have to work overtime. They get an overtime allowance for working long hours. 

Exercise 

Complete the sentences with earnings, income, salary, wages, pay and allowance. 

1. The hourly .................... went up by $2.  
2. His pension is his only source of ....................  
3. The company announced its quarterly .................... at the end of July.  
4. "What's the ....................?" "About $12 an hour."  
5. His annual .................... are over $100,000. 
6. The tax is taken from your monthly .................... 
7. Retail and fast food chains in the U.S. tend to pay the lowest ...................  
8. The amount of tax you have to pay depends on your ................... 
9. My average weekly ................... are around $600. 
10. She has to use her car in her new job but she gets a good mileage ...................... 

Answers: 
1. pay; 2. income; 3. earnings; 4. pay; 5. earnings (the verb form is 'are'); 6. salary; 7. wages; 8. income;
9. earnings (the verb form is 'are'); allowance; 

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Other Business English lessons: 
Collocations with Job (Part 1) 
Collocations with Job (Part 2) 
English Lesson: Jobs and Skills 
Business English: Working in an office 
Business English: Prepositions with WORK 
Business English: How to Talk about Your Job Responsibilities 


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