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Salary vs. Stipend, Per diem, Part time, and PRN - Meanings

SALARY

Definition: A sum of money paid by an employer to his employee periodically (weekly/monthly) for the regular services rendered by that employee under an employment contract.

Example: For the financial year 2025-26, Jack's gross salary is fixed at US$200,000 per annum by his employer QWZY Limited. Gross salary includes basic salary, perquisites, allowances, and other incentives.

Pronunciation:     UK  /ˈsæləri/         US  /ˈsælɚi/

Taxation: Salary is taxable in most countries. The taxation laws of a country prescribes rules to what extent it is taxable, and which elements of salary are deductible/exempted.


STIPEND

Origin: The word "Stipend" originated from the Latin word "stīpendium", which during the Roman imperial period used to mean a regular cash payment to the soldiers at the end of the campaigning season.

Meaning: A stipend is a fixed sum of money that is paid periodically at regular intervals to someone who has rendered services.

Eligibility: A stipend is paid to the person who is eligible for it under a scholarship program, or who is undergoing his internship, or apprenticeship for a certain educational course.

Pronunciation:     UK  /ˈstaɪpend/         US  /ˈstaɪpend/

Taxation: Stipends are usually tax-free in most countries, as they are paid to the students to meet educational expenses to a certain extent. However, employers may deduct tax from it, and refunds can be claimed by filing yearly tax returns.


PER DIEM

Origin: “Per diem” is a Latin phrase, whose English translation is “by the day”.

Synonyms: "Daily allowance". "Paid by the day". "Daily expenses". "As in per day". "For each day".

Pronunciation:    (Latin /per dee-uhm/)  (English /pər ˈdi əm/)

Meaning: A per diem is an amount of money that is paid to someone as a daily allowance in connection with their job for covering their daily expenses while they are working for their employer, especially costs relating to travel, food, lodging, and any other out-of-pocket expenses that may be allowed by the employer.

Employer: Employers pay per diem money to their employees for business trips. Employers can be government institutions or private companies or firms.

Law: Most countries do not have any specific laws relating compulsory payment per diem money to the employees. They are generally paid to attract or motivate employees.

Tax: Some countries allow such per diem payments by the employer as deductible expenses. Employers can report it in their tax returns and claim benefits.

Example: The Board of ABC Private Limited has decided that employees would be given $50 per diem for meeting their expenses during business trips.


PART-TIME

Abbreviation: In short, part-time is written as PT, or P/T.

Definition: Part time is defined as a period of time that is less than full time.

Pronunciation:     UK  /ˌpɑːtˈtaɪm/         US  /ˌpɑːrtˈtaɪm/

In job: When a person is employed for a work on part time basis, it means he would work for a few hours only in a week for that job. Generally, part time job holders work in rotational shifts.

Example: Mr. Jay Raj is employed at Rajaraam Stores on a part time basis. His working hours are four hours a day. Some days, he needs to work on morning shifts and some days, night shifts.

Wages: Part-time workers are paid wages on a per hour basis mostly. Some workers are paid on a weekly or monthly basis.

Type of workers: Mostly, students and housewives opt for such part time jobs. Some do it from home, which is called work-from-home.


PRN

Full form: “PRN” stands for “pro re nata”.

Origin: “Pro re nata” is a Latin phrase, which literally means “for the thing born”. It generally means “as needed” or “as the circumstance arises”.

Uses: The term is widely used in the medical field in the healthcare industry. Doctors use the short forms in their prescriptions such as p.r.n., PRN. It refers to the administration of prescribed medication as needed depending upon the condition of the patient, but up to a certain limit. Some medications are not scheduled by the doctors, but are given according to the patient's growing health conditions.

Example: Pain relief medications generally come under the PRN category.

Pronunciation:    (Latin /ˌprō-ˌrā-ˈnä-tä/)  (English /ˈproʊ ˈri ˈneɪ tə/)

Salary vs. Stipend, Per diem, Part time, and PRN - Meanings

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