Doesn't "guaranteed bonus" mean just that, irrespective of maternity leave taken? Also posted in Employment Topid

[ALittleBitPregnant]

I hope there are some employment lawyers out there who have a spare moment!

I am with a company which has agreed with me, through my contract, a "minimum guaranteed bonus of 20% of your base salary". I took maternity leave for 6 months of this year, and now they are trying to pro rata my bonus to half of what it was last year (the minimum 20%).

The exact wording on my contract says:

"The balance of your remuneration will be a performance related commission bonus of up to 80% of your base salary with a minimum guaranteed bonus of 20% of your base salary."

Now, they don't pro rata my salary or my holiday whilst I'm on mat leave (I got full pay for 6 months mat leave, as per my contract) - I thought mat leave counted as "continuous employment", and thus although I concede I can't be measured for performance on the months I was on mat leave (I couldn't hit my targets as I was looking after the baby!), I thought I would still receive the guaranteed 20% of my salary, as a bonus, as normal.

I found this on the internet through a solicitor's website:

A common question is whether an employer can reduce a bonus payment because an employee is, or has been, absent on maternity leave for part of the bonus year. It is important to look at what the bonus is based on, such as attendance, rewarding loyalty or performance.

Where a bonus is contractual and dependent on the performance of the company as a whole or individual performance over a specified period, an employer may pro rata the bonus payment to reflect a maternity absence
as long as the two week compulsory maternity leave period is not treated as absence.

However, where the bonus is discretionary or a contractual retention bonus or award for service, it may be sex discrimination if an employer pays a lower amount due to maternity absence. This is a difficult area and each case will depend on its facts. It is important to get specific legal advice in such situations.

So what do you think? Worth getting het up about or will I just get nowhere?