Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Average Christmas bonus?

324 replies

Legalhelp · 12/12/2020 21:13

My dp started a new job 6 months ago and colleagues have said they generally get a bonus at Christmas.
Times have been very hard recently, but we’ve managed to set money back to get all DD’s Christmas presents, decorations etc.
The Christmas bonus received will be the difference between a tight Christmas meal etc with a few nice bits or a relaxed couple of weeks for us at home.
Is there an average Christmas bonus for staff generally, percentage wise? Is it generally £50 in an envelope or a few hundred or is it completely different according to each company?
Dp doesn’t want to enquire about it and go just wait and see.

OP posts:
TokyoSushi · 13/12/2020 08:18

We've had a wide range over the years, bottle of wine, £25 high street voucher, all the way up to one year when DH got a £5K bonus, that was a good year!

knittingaddict · 13/12/2020 08:22

No Christmas bonus here and no pay rise for at least 10 years. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining as my husband earns a high wage compared with many. No idea how many gef a bonus, but it's certainly not all

Purplekitchen · 13/12/2020 08:24

My DH and I are both employed by the same person (private individual) and have had a £1k bonus between us. We have had a lot of extra work though this year, and we will be working right up to Christmas Day.

movingonup20 · 13/12/2020 08:31

Dp is giving £50 Amazon vouchers in lieu of dinner - bonuses are really in April but it felt right to do something

TicTac80 · 13/12/2020 08:32

I work in the NHS (nurse), therefore never had a bonus. However, I'm very very thankful that I have a job!! Some of my friends/family (who work in finance/banking) get huge bonuses, but I'm not sure if that will be the same this year.

If I were you, I'd assume that there'll be no bonus: if you do then get one, it will be a lovely surprise :)

waydownwego · 13/12/2020 08:41

To all those saying to check contracts... I've never had a Christmas bonus written into my contract.

The worst bonus I've had has been this year - a bag of cheap sweets that I'm allergic to and can't even give away, as I'm avoiding people because of Covid.

It really does vary according to the employer and how good a year they've had. After six months, the OP's DP is probably eligible, but may not be.

The best bonus I've had was for a smaller employer - couple of thousand.

So, based on my experience.... anywhere between a bag of pound shop sweets and £2k. This is why I expect nothing, and if I get anything of value, it's a nice surprise!

SaraSara12 · 13/12/2020 08:42

I used to work in a fairly senior role at the head office for a large grocery chain (billion dollar company) and for our "Christmas bonus" our boss brought out a cardboard box of random store brand products and said that we could each take home two Hmm (I chose peanuts & pasta sauce).

HollysBush · 13/12/2020 08:48

TicTac80 good advice. 😂 at Christmas bonus.
Used to be a cleaner for a doctor when the children were small. He gave me a lovely box of M & S chocolate biscuits each Christmas. We really appreciated them at the time.

Retiremental · 13/12/2020 08:52

@CliffordDanger

We got a Toblerone
You should be so fucking grateful. I got a satsuma.
CheeseAndBeans · 13/12/2020 08:53

I work in hospitality and OH in aviation. I get nothing, and OH usually gets a £50 airport shopping voucher but that won't happen this year as he's furloughed... still.

LadyCatStark · 13/12/2020 08:54

DH used to get a small Christmas bonus but they made it bigger and moved it to March. This year they’ve given him £500 and £100 Amazon voucher as an extra for working hard this year. The company have had massively bumper year though. They told them about the £500 a while ago as it’s not technically a ‘Christmas bonus’ it just happens to be in his December wage and the £100 Amazon voucher was a total surprise. I’m also public sector so I get nothing and I’m always astounded at how generous DH’s company are to its employees.

islockdownoveryet · 13/12/2020 09:00

I usually get one but not this year because of COVID it's a bit annoying but I'm lucky to have not lost my job . To be honest I'd have thought you'd have got it by now or know your getting it .
Saying that I did have 1 job a few years ago that it was cash on my last day before Christmas. It was about £300-£400 it was nice not to be taxed .

Pinotwoman82 · 13/12/2020 09:01

I worked for a company years ago and it was one months salary

Audreyseyebrows · 13/12/2020 09:08

We had months of applause.

Pinkfondue · 13/12/2020 09:12

Another one with a huge variation in Christmas bonuses ranging from a £25 high Street voucher, £50note, £200 (but then taxed), to £1500 that was discretionary and part of a wedding present from a small family company though.
I'm not sure my company would pay a Christmas bonus to someone who had worked there less than a year, or at best would pro rata the amount.

MordredsOrrery · 13/12/2020 09:13

No Christmas bonus here - they've never done them. No cost of living increase this year, either.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 13/12/2020 09:22

Last year we got £250. I'm not expecting one this year as the business suffered due to Covid and I was furloughed from March until August.

islockdownoveryet · 13/12/2020 09:23

It's reminded me of a woman l I worked with she started in the may I stated in the July . She heard about the Christmas bonus but got nothing I did .
She was told because she hadn't worked there long and also she'd had bit of sickness.
She was fuming but she had no idea I had a bonus because I was told not to mention it .
It's discretionary and up to the employer if they choose and how much .
Another job a colleague also had a fair bit of sickness on and off in the 2 years never go a Christmas bonus.
Again I kept quiet but another colleague told her about it but again when she was upset she got nothing the colleague denied ever mentioning the bonus to her . It's nothing official but it can cause upset .
Like someone else said expect nothing and you won't be disappointed but I suppose if you hear others have got a bonus it's upsetting. I never mention if I have and how much to my colleagues it's the same with pay it's nobody's business.

Yorensnow · 13/12/2020 09:23

Mental health worker in Charity sector, get nothing but have been given an extra days holiday which is better then nowt

Soubriquet · 13/12/2020 09:24

We don’t normally get one, but this year we get a 10% bonus on hours worked between a certain date.

It will work out to be about £60 for me.

IHeartNiles · 13/12/2020 09:28

NHS. Never had a bonus in any job and had 10 years without a pay rise while we haemorrhaged staff to retirement and overseas. I just want a decent pay rise, I’m furious. Nurses are such fucking polyannas it infuriates me.

DH gets £10-15k. For the last 3 years he’s also had share options that he’s cashed in at a tune of £60k a pop. For a job with FAR less responsibility and qualifications than the one I do.

Springersrock · 13/12/2020 09:45

I don’t get anything - I’m the one who organises everyone else’s bonuses though

The company I work for give the shop floor staff a completely discretionary bonus between £50 and £500.

Everyone gets at least £50, but it depends on what’s happened over the year.

Plus my boss has decided to buy the shop floor staff a hamper this year as he wants to give them a nice gift as it’s been such a shitty year.

I’m not entirely sure it’s going to go down as well as he thinks it will tbh, hampers can be a bit marmite and I think they’d all prefer the extra cash. I spent ages trying to find really nice hampers, catered to what I know of their tastes so I really hope they like them

beautifulmonument · 13/12/2020 10:30

Completely depends what type of work you do! I don't think an "average" figure is going to help you much as most get nothing and some get hundreds of thousands. I got about £2000.

Bumpsadaisie · 13/12/2020 12:30

We get 100 at Xmas and then roundabout 1500 in the summer.

goopsoup · 13/12/2020 12:55

We get an annual bonus but it’s not at Christmas. We don’t get any money at Christmas.