SSR's to lose double time on Sundays

Excerpt from IBM:

IBM pays employees extra if their regular work schedule includes a Saturday or Sunday.
This additional compensation is paid to both exempt employees and nonexempt employees -- with exempts receiving a flat daily rate and nonexempts receiving an additional rate of pay for every hour worked.
For many years, IBM has paid more if someone worked on Sunday than if they worked on Saturday
Please note: The additional compensation weekend premium is meant for employees working on a weekend as part of their regular work schedule. It should not be applied to employees who may be asked to work on a weekend as an exception to their regular schedule.

Current Situation

Competitive analysis reveals that few competitors pay extra for weekend work -- and when they do, the rates of pay is much lower than what IBM currently invests; this means IBM's underlying labor cost is higher than competitors -- an issue when pricing goods and services.

Change for 2004

Despite competitive pressures that would suggest an outright elimination of the weekend premium, IBM will continue its past practice of paying eligible employees more for regularly working on the weekend.
However, we will eliminate the past practice of paying more for Sunday work than we do for Saturday.
Effective June 1, 2004, we will adopt a consistent approach to weekend premium:
Exempt employees will earn an additional $60 per day if their regular work schedule includes a Saturday or Sunday (rather than $60 for Saturday and $120 for Sunday as in the past)
Nonexempt employees will be paid at time and a half rates (rather than double time as in the past).
All other provisions, such as eligibility, remain the same.

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Questions and Answers
What exactly is changing?
The weekend premium for eligible employees who work Sundays as part of their regular work schedule is being reduced from $120 a day to $60 a day. Eligible nonexempt employees will receive time-and-a-half for working on Sundays instead of double-time. There is no change to the Saturday premium.

Why are we changing our weekend premiums?
IBM's additional compensation practices have traditionally exceeded both legal requirements and industry standards. We recently conducted a study of the U.S. additional compensation pay practices of our industry competitors and discovered that IBM's practice far exceeded that of our competitors. With marketplace pressures on cost, it's important that our underlying cost structure reflect competitive norms. Even with these changes, IBM's practice remains ahead of our competitors.

When are we making this change?
The new weekend premiums for Sundays will be effective June 1, 2004. We are notifying affected employees and managers now so they are aware of these changes well in advance.

Who will be affected?
All U.S. employees who are eligible to receive the weekend premium. Weekend premiums are intended to compensate employees working a Saturday and/or Sunday as part of their regular schedule. For example, an eligible employee's regular schedule could be Sunday-Thursday. The premium should not be used for employees who work on an occasional weekend as an exception to their regular schedule.

Note: For nonexempt employees, this change does not affect how IBM calculates overtime pay.

Does an employee have to work "every" weekend to be eligible?
Not necessarily. The intention of the policy is to recognize employees who work on Saturdays and/or Sundays on a regular basis. An employee working every other Saturday for a number of months may also be considered for the weekend premium. Managers need to use their judgment to determine whether an employee is eligible to receive a weekend premium.

Is an employee who is regularly "on-call" or asked to carry a pager on weekends eligible for a weekend premium?
No. Employees should only be considered for weekend premiums if their regular work schedule includes weekend days.

Will any other changes to additional compensation premiums be made in the future?
IBM will continue to evaluate the competitiveness of our additional compensation practices within our industry.

Where can I find further information regarding IBM's additional compensation programs?
Visit the You and IBM Web site, and select the "all topics" link from the left-hand navigation. Next, choose the "Additional Compensation" link found under "Making Money at IBM."

IBM pays employees extra if their regular work schedule includes a Saturday or Sunday.
This additional compensation is paid to both exempt employees and nonexempt employees -- with exempts receiving a flat daily rate and nonexempts receiving an additional rate of pay for every hour worked.
For many years, IBM has paid more if someone worked on Sunday than if they worked on Saturday
Please note: The additional compensation weekend premium is meant for employees working on a weekend as part of their regular work schedule. It should not be applied to employees who may be asked to work on a weekend as an exception to their regular schedule.

Current Situation

Competitive analysis reveals that few competitors pay extra for weekend work -- and when they do, the rates of pay is much lower than what IBM currently invests; this means IBM's underlying labor cost is higher than competitors -- an issue when pricing goods and services.

Change for 2004

Despite competitive pressures that would suggest an outright elimination of the weekend premium, IBM will continue its past practice of paying eligible employees more for regularly working on the weekend.
However, we will eliminate the past practice of paying more for Sunday work than we do for Saturday.
Effective June 1, 2004, we will adopt a consistent approach to weekend premium:
Exempt employees will earn an additional $60 per day if their regular work schedule includes a Saturday or Sunday (rather than $60 for Saturday and $120 for Sunday as in the past)
Nonexempt employees will be paid at time and a half rates (rather than double time as in the past).
All other provisions, such as eligibility, remain the same.

Return to top

Questions and Answers
What exactly is changing?
The weekend premium for eligible employees who work Sundays as part of their regular work schedule is being reduced from $120 a day to $60 a day. Eligible nonexempt employees will receive time-and-a-half for working on Sundays instead of double-time. There is no change to the Saturday premium.

Why are we changing our weekend premiums?
IBM's additional compensation practices have traditionally exceeded both legal requirements and industry standards. We recently conducted a study of the U.S. additional compensation pay practices of our industry competitors and discovered that IBM's practice far exceeded that of our competitors. With marketplace pressures on cost, it's important that our underlying cost structure reflect competitive norms. Even with these changes, IBM's practice remains ahead of our competitors.

When are we making this change?
The new weekend premiums for Sundays will be effective June 1, 2004. We are notifying affected employees and managers now so they are aware of these changes well in advance.

Who will be affected?
All U.S. employees who are eligible to receive the weekend premium. Weekend premiums are intended to compensate employees working a Saturday and/or Sunday as part of their regular schedule. For example, an eligible employee's regular schedule could be Sunday-Thursday. The premium should not be used for employees who work on an occasional weekend as an exception to their regular schedule.

Note: For nonexempt employees, this change does not affect how IBM calculates overtime pay.

Does an employee have to work "every" weekend to be eligible?
Not necessarily. The intention of the policy is to recognize employees who work on Saturdays and/or Sundays on a regular basis. An employee working every other Saturday for a number of months may also be considered for the weekend premium. Managers need to use their judgment to determine whether an employee is eligible to receive a weekend premium.

Is an employee who is regularly "on-call" or asked to carry a pager on weekends eligible for a weekend premium?
No. Employees should only be considered for weekend premiums if their regular work schedule includes weekend days.

Will any other changes to additional compensation premiums be made in the future?
IBM will continue to evaluate the competitiveness of our additional compensation practices within our industry.

Where can I find further information regarding IBM's additional compensation programs?
Visit the You and IBM Web site, and select the "all topics" link from the left-hand navigation. Next, choose the "Additional Compensation" link found under "Making Money at IBM."