Crossword Genius

Judge composition written earlier and suggest remuneration according to quantity produced (5,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

piece rate

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'written earlier and suggest remuneration according to quantity produced' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'judge composition' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'judge' could be 'rate' (rating is a kind of judging) and 'rate' is located in the answer.
'composition' could be 'piece' (synonyms) and 'piece' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for piece rate that I've seen before include "Money paid per item completed" , "payment based on production - with 14a" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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