Glossary  /  Classification & payroll

Remuneration

Also called payroll for workers comp, rateable payroll

Remuneration is the workers' compensation term for all compensation that counts toward premium, which is broader than take-home pay and broader than what most businesses think of as payroll.

The default position is that money paid to a worker is included, and specific exclusions are then subtracted. Gross wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, holiday and vacation pay, and the straight-time portion of overtime are all normally included — as are employee contributions to retirement and cafeteria plans, because those were wages before the employee deferred them.

Common exclusions include severance, tips reported by the employee, documented reimbursed business expenses, employer contributions to benefit plans, and third-party sick pay. The specifics vary by state.

Why it matters at audit

Businesses that start from take-home pay rather than gross consistently under-report, and the correction arrives at audit with the full policy term behind it.

Related terms

  • Audit basisThe audit basis is the final payroll figure, by class code, that premium is calculated against once inclusions and exclusions have been applied.
  • Overtime premium exclusionThe overtime premium exclusion removes the extra portion of overtime pay from the audit basis, so an employee paid time-and-a-half is rated on their base hourly rate rather than the premium rate.
  • Officer payroll capAn officer payroll cap is a state-set limit on how much of an included officer's or owner's compensation counts toward workers' compensation premium, with a floor as well as a ceiling.

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