18 II.—PRIVATE FIRMS AND COMPANIES. panies the salaries include those of managing' and other directors, and an analogous practice obtains with a few( a ) private firms, though, as a rule, in such firms the remuneration of management is included in the proportion of the profits not allotted to em ployees, but retained by the firm. As to the minimum remunera tion of capital, interest at fixed rates is included in a large number of instances, whether in the case of joint stock companies or of private firms, among the deductions to be made before “ net profits ” are arrived at; the fixed rate of interest being generally 5,( b ) sometimes 6,( c ) per cent., and only exceptionally a lower( a ) or a higher( e ) percentage. In the case of No. 60 the remunera tion of capital is secured by a certain standard of profit' being fixed for each job; this scheme is confined to working foremen (leading hands), who are paid a percentage on the total account for each job, and a special provision is made that any deficit on the estimated profits is deducted from the amount due to the employee. In some cases special mention is made of sums to be set aside for depreciation^) and for reserve funds.(») Under scheme No. 7 a sum is set aside before profits are divided to be devoted to a Provident Uund for widows and orphans of em ployees. The “ reserved limit ”—i.e., the point at which the participa tion of the employees begins—is in a few cases( h ) known to be based not on the actual profits earned in the years immediately preceding the introduction of the profit-sharing scheme, but on an amount below those profits. The principle upon which the reserved limit is calculated is generally communicated to the employees.0 In a few cases( J ) the results of the calculation determining the total amount avail able for participation are certified by professional auditors, whose figures can be seen by the employees. In two( k ) cases the employees are allowed to inspect the books of the firm. Share in Profits allotted to Employees. The proportion of the profits allotted for division between the employees varies considerably in different schemes. Of the cases in which no mention is made of any part of the total net profits being retained for the employers as a reserved limit, there are a few(’) in which .10 per cent, of the profits is allotted as the share (0 Nos. 19, 27, 35, 78, 115. ( b ) Nos. 5, 6, 9, 16, 28, 41, 43, 49, 62, 65, 78, 87, 103, 115, 117, and one anony mous case ; in the case of No. 49 the rate is cumulative. 0 Nos. 14, 25, 26, 51, 75, 76, 92, 120, 122 ; in the case of No. 76 the rate is cumulative. ( d ) No. 88, 4 per cent. ( c ) No. 131, about 9T per cent. ; Nos. 61 and 125, 10 per cent. ; No. 81, 50 per cent. ( f ) Nos. 5, 25, 26, 37, 43, 78, 125. (») Nos. 5, 6, 7, 9, 25, 49, 76, 125. (”) Nos. 19, 25, 27, 66. Q In the case, however, of Nos. 23 and 64 the reserved limit is disclosed only to a professional auditor, who in the former case issues a certificate if no bonus can be paid, and who in the latter case certifies the amount due toemployees. (i) Nos. 14, 20, 30, 39, 47, 57 ; see also reference to Nos. 23 and 64 in preceding note. ( k ) Nos. 54 and 78 (through Finance Committee—see pp. 46-49), 0 Nos. 17, 126, and one anonymous case.