Bonus disappointment - how to respond

[Smallgirlbigcity1]

Looking for advice from professionals or someone with an HR background please

I have just been adviced of the bonus amount I will be receiving this year. I am disappointed for quite a few reasons: hard year for my team with increased work volume, started the year in a formula of four and by mid year it was only two of us (a colleague went on maternity, other resigned). I have worked overtime consistently and even had to work from my holidays.

Due to the nature of my role I am privy to all company remuneration info and I could not fail to notice rest of the department’s bonus numbers.
While I was given an excuse as to “there was a standard of x% applied”, this was not applied uniformly and for example my colleague who went on maternity and whose job I covered as well as mine received twice as much (while she was away for the most part of the year). And this is not the only example.

I like my job but this has made me feel so low to the point I cried this morning. It is not the money, it is feeling undervalue and “used”.

The question is, do I say anything or pack up and leave? I have been in the role for a few years and while people around me have renegotiated their pay/bonus I just kept my head down and got on with the job.

Your bonus should be pro rated

Sorry I disagree, why would you deserve more? It should be paid relative to your hours worked
I'd be pissed if I was full time and a part time person got more because they caused a fuss
It's should be equal based on fte

I would be feeling bitter about this and id bloody tell them i was bitter.

In a very similar boat - challenged it & got nowhere - feel undervalued and betrayed, really and have been in tears over it several times. I am looking for a new role. Sympathies, OP.

Yeah it doesn't sit right with me

If a bonus is to be paid for output then part time shouldn't matter

Ie if the bonus was related to sales volume then if you all sell the same you should all get the same no matter how many hours are on your contract

Actually there's an argument to give the part timers more because they cost you less for the same amount of sales ?!

Email your points and ask for a meeting:

I have done x y z above and beyond my set responsibilities. I want to know why my pay is lower than person A who was off on maternity leave and whose responsibilities I picked up and yet my bonus is lower.
Can you let me know when we can meet to discuss the reasoning behind my bonus amount.

Pack up and leave.

If it's a fixed percentage then others obviously just earn more than you.

Renegotiate your salary and contract terms if you want.

Personally I wouldn't be staying somewhere where I felt I had to work from my holidays, though.

I appreciate all your responses, I will initiate a conversation, don’t want to leave but feel very let down and have lost my drive. It is an ego thing mainly, as stupid as it sounds and also can’t stop thinking of how my colleagues will perceive this once they know they have received a bigger bonus for working less. I worry about how this will change team dynamics as well.

I also wonder why they made this decision, my review was good and there was no mention whatsoever of me underperforming in any area. Is it because I always keep my head down or is it because they feel I don’t bring enough value (in which case I definitely want to know and I should have already been made aware!).

My partner told me when the team suddenly got stripped to the bone that it was the right time for me to negotiate a pay rise but I felt that would have been a callous move and chose to just get on with the job.

@FredaFox I work harder much harder than some FT colleagues get a higher rating and because it then pro rated I end up with less. So someone who works FT but does the basic no extra can end up with more than me who works PT but does shit loads more. I dont think that's fair. I expect my basic pay to be less as I work less hours.

I also wonder why they made this decision, my review was good and there was no mention whatsoever of me underperforming in any area.

I think the decision makers give bigger bonuses to the people they like more, in a social sense - that is my impression. Your hard work counts for nothing if you're not amongst their friendship group. Fuck them, is my attitude now. I'll value them as much as they value me, and no more.

Definitely mention it. It is good practice to assert yourself and state “I was disappointed in my bonus this year after I felt I put in an exceptional performance going well above and beyond my role, and had positive feedback on the effort I made and results I achieved. Please can you explain how the bonus is assessed, because right now I’m feeling incredibly demotivated.”

If you don’t get a satisfactory answer then withdraw your extra effort - in fact just do the very bare minimum. And look for a role elsewhere.

I also got a pro rated cost of living payment which also pissed me off. My Bill's are the same as everyone elses. They arent less because I work less.

That seems completely fair to me

@smellyflowers does it why is that. So my heating bills food Bill's ect is the same as a FT colleague but I get less as I work less. That makes no sense to me. I expect my hourly wage to be for the hours I work so if someone works 35 and I do 20 that's fine anything outside of that is not.

But presumably you can afford to work part time, so might be considered less in need of the payment than someone who is working every available hour?

@SkirtingTriangle with the greatest of respects what the hell. What if I work PT as I am a single Mum with no one to look after my kids and on much less than my FT colleagues. Or caring for elderly parents. They wouldn't dare do it on circumstances it's just a blanket approach to save money.

I didn't say you don't have valid reasons for working part time, I said you could afford to. If I dropped my hours to 20 per week, I couldn't afford to live - my outgoings would exceed my income - I couldn't house or feed myself on a part time wage. I wouldn't be here now posting on Mumsnet if I worked 20 hours a week. But you are.

I dont work 20 hrs a week it was just an example however when I did work 16hr a week as my autistic DS wouldn't go in any childcare other than my Mums I would have been in this same position getting less when actually my circumstances were worse than my FT colleagues. My point is it's unfair and employers do this kind of shit like this and the bonus thing because of people accepting less than they should. Not sure what your weird comment is about me posting on mumsnet. I could work full time Monday to Friday.

I meant that, on 20 hours a week I would be homeless and without access to the internet, so wouldn't be posting on any forums!

But bonuses are paid dependent on your employment terms, not personal circumstances. Your personal circumstances don't make the business money.

The point I was trying to make to the OP is know your own worth sometimes employers do shitty things and you dont have to accept it. You are allowed to voice that you arent happy with it. Your point was that I must work PT as I can afford to. Many many people work PT because they have no choice as in the circumstances outlined. I dont believe they should be penalised for this with a COL payment. The bonus issue is purely performance related if I perform better I expect more just working FT shouldn't equate to more. The only person I would expect to get more than me is someone who performs at the same level and works FT hours then fine. But if the dont then I expect more than them.

Your point was that I must work PT as I can afford to. Many many people work PT because they have no choice as in the circumstances outlined.

But you are still affording it - you are not out on the street, as I would be on part-time hours.

OP - the question to ask is, what more could I have done to get the same %age bonus as everyone else?