Salary is usually used to refer to a monthly payment, while a wage can be weekly, daily or even hourly. A salary is a fixed amount paid regularly, and doesn't normally change according to the hours you've worked (though there may be a bonus for extra productivity or some other reason. A wage, usally paid at the end of the week, will depend on hours worked or possibly productivity (eg number of units made).

Typically, if you are paid a salary there is a longer period of notice before you can leave or be dismissed - you will have a contract which states this, as well as other conditions. With a wage, the period of notice is usually shorter, and in some cases there may be none. It is sometimes possible for waged workers to have no contract and no real employment rights apart from the rights that the law gives to all workers.