Piecework

Piecework is a system of remuneration in which the pay received by the ‘pieceworker’ is variably commensurate with the quantity of product produced. The system can apply to both self-employed and employed workers. In the case of the self-employed (the locatio operis of Roman law), the payment under the piecework contract is calculated net of the materials, resources and equipment supplied – or in any case paid for – by the party commissioning the work. In the case of employees (the locatio operarum), piecework remunerates the worker on the basis of the output achieved, differing from remuneration proportional to the time for which the worker is engaged in providing their labour to the employer. However, in the historical reality of wage structures, this distinction is often blurred in hybrid systems. Where the amount of the wage is wholly or partly commensurate with the quantities produced, piecework acts as an incentive to increase the effort expended.