Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

'wage drift noun [u](Economics) the situation when the average level of wages earned rises faster than the rates of pay that have been agreed at a national level: Wage drift consists of such things as overtime, bonuses and performance-related pay.

'wage .earner noun [c] a person who earns money, especially a person who works for wages (= is paid every week): There are three wage earners in the family. О a high/low/top wage earner

'wage gap noun [c] the difference in rates of pay between one group of people and another: the male-female wage gap о The wage gap between CEOs and workers is much wider than it was ten years ago. -> wage differential О the wage gap narrows/widens

wage inflation noun [u] (,Economics) a general rise in the rates of pay in a particular industry, country, etc: the aim of achieving falling unemployment and low wage inflation

'wage, packet = pay packet

wage-'price .spiral noun [sing.] (Economics) the idea that a general rise in prices causes levels of pay to rise, which then causes prices to rise again, and so on

,wage-'push in flation noun [u] (Economics) a rise in prices caused by a general rise in levels of pay that makes goods cost more to produce

'wage restraint (also 'pay restraint) noun [u,c] (especially BrE)

(Economics) the process of controlling the amount by which pay can rise: dealing with high inflation through wage restraint

compulsory/voluntary wage restraint

wages bill = wage bill

'wage scale noun [c] (HR)

the range of levels of wages that a person can receive in a particular job: The wage scale for an assistant chef is from 18 to 27 an hour.

the range of levels of wages that people receive in different jobs: cleaners, and others at the bottom end of the wage scale

pay scale, salary scale

wages clerk noun [c] a person whose job is to calculate and arrange payment for a company's employees

'wage slave noun [c] (informal) a person who depends completely on the money they receive each week from their job, especially sb who has a boring or hard job

.wait-and-'see adjective [only before noun] used to describe a situation where you wait to see what happens before making a decision: We're taking a wait-and-see attitude to m-commerce.

waive /weiv/ verb [+ obj] to choose not to demand sth in a particular case, even though you have a legal or official right to do so: Lawyers working on the charity's behalf waived their fees.

О to waive your claim/fee/right

waiver /'weiva(r)/ noun [C] (Law) a situation in which sb gives up a legal right or claim; an official document stating this: A waiver of the licence fee may be made for educational events, о The contract contained a waiver clause, stating that the company would not be sued if it failed to deliver on time.

to grant/obtain/seek/sign a waiver

'wake-up call noun [c]

the service that hotels provide of telephoning guests to wake them up at the time they ask: Could

have a wake-up call at 6?

a sudden warning that you need to take action: The shocking figures were a wake-up call to the sales team.

walk /wo:k/ verb, noun • verb

ШШ walk off the 'job (AmE) to stop working in 599 want ad