PIECEWORK
| ITALY |
| COTTIMO PIECEWORK |
Payment system based on work output (for example, number of items produced, reduction in the time spent as compared with the standard time fixed for a task, etc.), rather than on the time for which an individual's work effort is available (time rate).
As actually applied and regulated by collective bargaining, piecework is never "pure" (except in the case of homeworking/outwork ); in other words, it does not mean that an employee's entire pay is correlated to output, but only a part of pay, which is consequently known as the "variable part".
The remainder, known as the "fixed part", is merely a normal time rate, but higher because of the higher average output of employees on piecework.
Piecework is known as "individual" if it is linked to an individual's output, and "collective" if it is linked to the output of teams or groups of employees (see also piece-rates ).
Please note: the European industrial relations glossaries were compiled between 1991 and 2003 and are not updated. For current material see the European industrial relations dictionary.