To ask you how I should spend my bonus?!

[Actuallyabitgreynow]

Not a bragging post, I promise. Single mum barely scraping by, although in a middle management job in the civil service (extortionate monthly outgoings due to high rent and lots of debts taken out when STBXH kept being unemployed).

I joined my team last year on promotion but very soon after, the posts at the two grades higher than me became vacant. Whilst I never formally stepped into the role, I took on a lot of additional responsibility and have really driven the work forward. The two vacant posts have now been filled and I've been told by my manager that he has authorised a bonus (or "in year reward") for my hard work. Except he has now buggered off on annual leave for the next 3 weeks having not told me how much it will be 🤣 what an arsehole (lighthearted, obviously, I am extremely grateful!).

As I'm new to the team I've no idea of precedents in what these awards might be. I know in my previous role (in a different team but same department) I'd be looking at between £300-500 but they are all moderated independently by the business unit so it doesn't really matter what happened there.

FWIW I'm on £40k, the vacancies above me were £55k and £70k, and I spent six months taking on the additional responsibilities.

In a ideal world I'd love a grand 🤣 but that's unrealistic and a couple of hundred is most likely.

What shall I spend it on?! I've literally just got back from a mini-break with my boyfriend and am taking my son away next week, so no urgent news for a staycation. Maybe a tattoo?? Piercings? New clothes or some decent boots? HELP!

Either on the debt or savings in those circumstances.

Congrats on the bonus! Well done! I'd save it and have for some extra spending when restrictions lift more, and more options later in the year

When I spent a year really going above and beyond and pulling a massive project through I got a £6k bonus when they had usually been £2k, hopefully you will have something decent to spend!

Priorities eh? Scraping by is worrying whether to pay a bill or buy food, not whether you can afford another holiday or a tattoo

A bonus in the civil service is usually the £25 R&R voucher. Could it be they are back paying you for the ‘additional responsibilities’ payment?

Put it towards your debt, that way you'll pay it off sooner and save interest and reduce your outgoings in the longer term.

Good ad hoc bonuses do exist in at least some parts of the civil service but they aren't well publicized. Wait and see what you get and then make a decision about how to spend it, how you should spend £400 is very different to how you should spend £4K. Since you are scraping by then the bulk of it should probably go to savings but maybe spend 10% on a treat for yourself. If it's a decent amount (and it should be if you have been up acting) then put it towards a sensible big cost like a major home improvement.

Also, think about updating your CV and applying for another job with this extra experience. It looks very good in an interview if you have recent stretching experiences and can say 'as a result I got a bonus of X%'. Be aware that civil service pensions are very generous so a non-civil service job would have to be a lot more to compete so feel free to apply for jobs that on paper offer a lot more.

Well done you!

Your optimism is lovely but you're in for serious disappointment spending money that may not ever materialise...

Good ad hoc bonuses do exist in at least some parts of the civil service but they aren't well publicized

Yep, my friend got a return to work one after maternity not to mention an excellent maternity package.

It won't be a £25 voucher 🙄 my department has two R&R schemes, one of which is a voucher and one of which is a taxable monetary amount, both called very different things and it was made clear this is the latter.

And by 'scraping by' I mean we have enough to cover rent and bills and new clothes for my son when he needs them, but not enough for luxuries (my boyfriend paid for our break away and my parents have paid for the break next week as we are going with them).

Paying off debts would be the smart thing to do but I'm already paying back more than minimum repayments and am on track to be debt free by the end of the year. DS has had a spectacularly rubbish couple of months at preschool though so maybe a nice day out for him somewhere, or putting it towards Christmas and giving me a boost to start saving for that.

@CoRhona what makes you think it won't ever materialise? My manager has authorised a payment that will go onto my end of June payslip...

Half to pay off debts and half for savings

@Actuallyabitgreynow but you don't know how much, so if you're thinking a couple of hundred as you say in your first post and it isn't that much, you might be disappointed.

But fingers crossed for you it's a decent amount!

It won't be a £25 voucher 🙄 my department has two R&R schemes, one of which is a voucher and one of which is a taxable monetary amount, both called very different things and it was made clear this is the latter.

My Department has the same. In year awards are typically between £150 and £800, most common amount is probably £300.

Given that we haven't had more than a 1% payrise in years - and unlike NHS and some other public sector organisations, we don't get any increments - I don't feel particularly guilty.

I personally would get a Ninja Foodi - friends who have one say they've more or less stopped using their 'proper' cooker since getting it, and it's much cheaper to run - good if you love cooking, great if you hate cooking (cos it does a lot of the work for you). I love cooking, but am broke, so shan't be getting one anytime soon!

I had a 1k bonus a few years ago. I needed to spend it on bills but decided to spend it on fun things. Probably irresponsible but hey ho.

I gave my siblings children £100 each. I took myself shopping with the rest and bought some lovely dresses and shoes.

@CoRhona that's true, but they are a minimum of £100 (the voucher scheme is used if under this amount) and the annual team budget is usually about £300 per person, but not everyone in the team will receive one in-year. I was the business manager in my last post so I know generally speaking they're at least a couple of hundred unless the new team is especially stingey thank you for the crossed fingers though!

Was thinking £50. Ask the head of departments PA they’ll know (if they still have PAs) don’t get too excited it needs to be signed off and can take months

@WornOutWorm I line manage the PA so it feels a bit indiscreet to ask her. It's already been signed off and authorised for this months payday. Guess I'll just have to wait til payslips go online in a couple of weeks.

If you put it towards paying off debt at the end of the year you can spend a slightly higher sum on yourself or on Christmas because of the interest you will save.

Pay the extra off debt. This is what I would do in same position

FWIW I'm on £40k, the vacancies above me were £55k and £70k, and I spent six months taking on the additional responsibilities.

If you did this then really you should be getting the best part of £10K. Why didn't they arrange for your up acting to be officially recognised in your pay packet and did you apply for the jobs when they were advertised?

I would buy a few exotic plants for my garden, as it's not been looking at it's best this year.. Then will be able to get nice results from the plants, for years to come.

If you’re barely scraping by then put it into savings.

@JaninaDuszejko I didn't apply for them, I've only recently started this role on promotion and whilst I'm grateful for the added experience, I'm not ready to apply for grade 7 jobs yet. My original plan was to do so in about 5 years, but this experience has made me rethink that to perhaps 2 years time when the programme I'm working on ends.