Mathematics Standard • Year 11 • Module 3 • Lesson 3
Commission, Piecework and Leave Loading
Practise HSC-style writing on commission, piecework and leave loading — multi-mark short answers and one structured extended response.
1. Short-answer questions
1.1 A worker is paid $2.85 per item assembled. In a week they assemble 318 items. Calculate the worker's weekly pay. 2 marks Band 3
1.2 A car salesperson earns a fortnightly retainer of $750 plus 3.5% commission on all sales above a threshold of $8,000. This fortnight she made $32,000 in sales. Calculate her total fortnightly earnings. 3 marks Band 3-4
1.3 An employee earns $1,360 per week. She is entitled to 4 weeks of paid annual leave plus a 17.5% leave loading.
(a) Calculate the total amount she receives for her 4 weeks of annual leave (leave pay + loading).
(b) The employee tells a friend she will be paid "an extra $952 for going on leave". Explain in one sentence whether this statement is correct or misleading. 4 marks Band 4
2. Extended response
2.1 Brigid is considering two part-time job offers in real estate.
Job M: A fixed weekly retainer of $480, plus 1.6% commission on all property sales she makes that week.
Job N: No retainer, but a tiered commission: 2% on the first $400,000 of any property sale and 3.5% on the portion of the sale price above $400,000.
In a particular week, Brigid will sell one property worth $620,000.
(a) Calculate Brigid's earnings for that week under Job M.
(b) Calculate her earnings under Job N for the same property sale.
(c) State which job pays more for that week, by how much, and write a one-sentence note on which job is the safer long-term choice when sales are uncertain. 7 marks Band 5-6
Explicit marking criteria
Part (a) — 2 marks
• 1 mark — correct commission: $620,000 × 0.016.
• 1 mark — correct total: retainer + commission.
Part (b) — 3 marks
• 1 mark — Tier 1: $400,000 × 0.02.
• 1 mark — correctly identifies tier 2 amount as $220,000 (not $620,000).
• 1 mark — sum of both tiers gives total commission.
Part (c) — 2 marks
• 1 mark — correct numerical comparison and conclusion sentence with units.
• 1 mark — sensible comment on which job is safer when sales are uncertain (Job M has a guaranteed retainer).
Your response:
Stuck on (b)? Split $620,000 into the first $400,000 (Tier 1) and the next $220,000 (Tier 2). Apply each rate only to its own slice.How did this worksheet feel?
What I'll revisit before next class:
1.1 — Piecework, 318 items (2 marks)
Sample response. Pay = 318 × $2.85 = $906.30.
Marking notes. 1 mark — correct substitution shown. 1 mark — correct dollar value with units. A bare "$906.30" with no substitution scores 1/2.
1.2 — Retainer + commission above threshold (3 marks)
Sample response.
Commission-eligible sales = $32,000 − $8,000 = $24,000.
Commission = $24,000 × 0.035 = $840.00.
Total fortnightly earnings = $750 + $840 = $1,590.00.
Marking notes. 1 mark — correctly identifies $24,000 as the commission-eligible amount (not $32,000). 1 mark — correct commission. 1 mark — correct total with units. Common error: applying 3.5% to $32,000 gives $1,120 commission and $1,870 total — wrong because the first $8,000 is below the threshold.
1.3 — Annual leave + loading (4 marks)
(a) Sample response. Leave pay = $1,360 × 4 = $5,440.00. Loading = 0.175 × $5,440 = $952.00. Total = $5,440 + $952 = $6,392.00.
(b) Sample response. The statement is misleading. The $952 is the extra loading on top of the 4 weeks of regular leave pay, not an extra amount above what she would have earned normally. She would have earned $5,440 in those 4 weeks anyway; the true "extra" because she took leave is just the $952 loading.
Marking notes. (a) 1 mark — correct leave pay. 1 mark — correct loading. 1 mark — correct total with units. (b) 1 mark — identifies "misleading" AND explains the $952 is the loading bonus on top, not extra over normal weekly pay. A response saying only "correct" or "misleading" without reasoning = 0.
2.1 — Job M vs Job N for a $620,000 property (7 marks): sample Band-6 response with annotations
Sample Band-6 response.
(a) Job M for the week.
Commission = $620,000 × 0.016 = $9,920.00. [1 mark — commission.]
Total = $480 (retainer) + $9,920 = $10,400.00. [1 mark — total.]
(b) Job N for the same sale.
Tier 1 = $400,000 × 0.02 = $8,000.00. [1 mark — Tier 1.]
Tier 2 amount = $620,000 − $400,000 = $220,000. [1 mark — Tier 2 amount identified correctly, not $620,000.]
Tier 2 commission = $220,000 × 0.035 = $7,700.00.
Total Job N = $8,000 + $7,700 = $15,700.00. [1 mark — total commission summed.]
(c) Compare and recommend.
Difference = $15,700.00 − $10,400.00 = $5,300.00. For this week, Job N pays more by $5,300.00. [1 mark — comparison + conclusion with units.]
Long-term safety: Job M is safer because the $480 weekly retainer is guaranteed even in weeks with no sales, whereas Job N pays nothing if no property sells that week. [1 mark — sensible comment on retainer vs no-retainer risk.]
Total: 7/7.
Band descriptors for marker.
Band 3: Calculates one of the two jobs correctly but applies Job N's 3.5% to the full $620,000. ≈ 3 marks.
Band 4: Both jobs calculated correctly but the conclusion is a bare number with no winning-job sentence. ≈ 4-5 marks.
Band 5: Full calculation with conclusion sentence but no comment on safety/retainer. ≈ 6 marks.
Band 6: Complete: both jobs correct, conclusion sentence naming winning job + dollar gap + units, AND a sensible comment on which job is safer when sales are uncertain. 7/7.