Meaning & use
working on commission
Last updated
Meaning
phraseintransitivebusinessfinance
Earning money based on a percentage of the sales you make, rather than a fixed salary.
Grammar: Used after a form of 'be' or 'work': I am working on commission; she works on commission.
Patterns
- be working on commission
- work on commission
- paid on commission
Most of the sales team is working on commission, so their income varies each month.
He prefers working on commission because he can earn more when sales are high.
If you are working on commission, you need to close deals to get paid.
Word forms
| base form | work on commission |
|---|---|
| third person singular | works on commission |
| past tense | worked on commission |
| past participle | worked on commission |
| -ing form | working on commission |
Common combinations
- be paid on commission
- Real estate agents are often paid on commission.
- work on commission only
- Some jobs are commission only, with no base salary.
- earn commission on sales
- She earns a 10% commission on every sale.
Synonyms and how they differ
- commission-based
- Commission-based is an adjective used before a noun, e.g., a commission-based salary; working on commission is a phrase describing the worker's situation.
- paid by results
- Paid by results is a broader phrase meaning pay depends on performance; working on commission specifically means a percentage of sales.
Opposites
Word family
- commission noun
- A percentage of money paid to someone who makes a sale.
- commissioner noun
- A person in charge of a commission or a sports league, not related to sales commission.
Commonly confused: working on commission or working for commission?
working on commission vs working for commission
Working for commission is not the usual phrase; the standard expression is working on commission.
Practice
What does it mean if someone is 'working on commission'?
Choose one answer.
Working on commission means your pay is a percentage of what you sell. Option B is correct. Option A describes a salaried job; option C confuses 'commission' with an official committee; option D is unpaid work.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “working on commission”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.