About pay review and bonus at work

[frankentall]

Been at my job just over a year and so asked about pay review. Apparently these are given in July - so I missed last July as was too new and have to wait until this July.
My offer said 10% bonus. Similarly apparently no bonus until July BUT also not mentioned - it's not necessarily 10% - or indeed anything at all.

I guess I should have made more detailed enquiries at the time.

My contract just says "Your salary will be reviewed annually, and you will be notified in writing of any change to your salary" - it doesn't mention having to wait more than a year for the first review,
and it doesn't mention bonus at all except to say it won't be paid if I have given notice.

I've talked to my boss (and at his request to my boss's boss) both say that's just the way things are done and there's nothing they can do.

I am not in a Union and we don't have salary transparency.

I took a pay cut to do this job as it's something I wanted to do, but very much on the expectation of a 10% bonus. AIBU?

[AlohaRose]

It was entirely your choice to take a pay cut
for this job though. What was mentioned specifically about a bonus? Usually that would depend on company performance above a certain level, that a bonus is paid at all. I’m not sure what complaint you think you have against company at the moment?

[BodyKeepingScore]

I'm not sure what your employer has done wrong at this stage? You took a pay cut, a bonus is not guaranteed

[CuriousGeorge80]

Standard to have pay reviews once a year and that anybody who joins after x date isn’t included. They should have told you it was July though as that isn’t particularly standard (1 Jan or 1 April far more usual in my experience).

Again, bonuses are pretty much never contractual and are always dependent on performance (either yours or business or both). Otherwise it wouldn’t really be a bonus, if it was guaranteed.

[FriendlyNeighbourhoodAccountant]

It is an annual pay review, it doesn't mean when you've been there a year otherwise they'd be reviewing pay all the time. In this case it means every July.

What specifically does it say about the bonus? If it's not contractual then I'd expect it to be anything between 0-10% per year.

[DailyMailHater]

In my experience, bonus payments are always discretionary and subject to conditions and in now way guaranteed - I would never “bank on a bonus” if that makes sense.

our company is the same pay review is done at a set point every year and that is just how it is unless there is a specific reason to review ad hoc I.e. promotion or passing of a high level qualification. No transparency on pay - no one knows what anyone else is on, no pay brackets published.

I have never worked anywhere that it isn’t like this so would never have expected any different.

they aren’t going to change it, so I guess you put up with it, or make a decision to look elsewhere

[Daffidale]

This is all very standard and normal
a bonus is a bonus. It’s never guaranteed. It depends on business performance and/or your own performance (eg hitting sales, revenue or profit targets)
It’s very normal for pay rises and bonus (if made) to be awarded annually to all staff at the same time.

[Travis1]

what is your bonus based on? Normally it’s not a given bit you should have clear, measurable targets to meet to achieve the bonus.

for me my bonus is actually a profit share and division is decided by centre manager

[Didimum]

Opinions will differ but to me this is entitlement culture – I don't think employees deserve pay rewards simply for time served that are not related to performance. However, if the company has cultivated this entitled culture with its employees and then not clarified when it applies, then that's on them.

Yes, I think when taking a pay cut, it is on you to determine all the details that make that a dealbreaker or not to you.

[Elektra1]

Pay reviews always occur at the same time every year. If taking a pay cut to take the job was a concern, I would have asked questions about timing of salary review before accepting the offer. Likewise bonuses are discretionary and are awarded (usually) for good performance. I would have asked at interview stage what you have to do to earn a bonus, and if the 10% is a flat rate or if bonuses can be awarded up to 10%.

Don't forget your bonus will be taxed as well.

[HermioneWeasley]

What’s the exact wording about bonus and when did they say it was normally paid?

any yes, most organisations do salary reviews once a year with a cut off if you’ve joined recently so that’s very normal.

[lavagal]

Expecting a pay review so soon is ambitious in my opinion and never relay on a bonus - they are rarely contractual and usually discretionary

[KnickerlessParsons]

A bonus is a bonus. That's why it's called a bonus. It's not part of your salary and not guaranteed. A bonus is also not a pay rise.

In my place of work my bonus depends on my performance and the company's performance. There's some sort of calculation which works out what each individual will get.

10% is a big bonus by today's standards. Has either you or your employer performed extremely well this last year?

If you joined just before last year's bonus was awarded, you won't have done enough work to be measured by, nor to have made a difference to how well the company performed so its usual in that situation for new employees not to get it.

[Flyonthewall01]

from my experience you never get a pay increase in your first year as the company assumes you were happy with the salary when you accepted it. After judging you’d performance by the next review they might then give you a % increase.
in terms of bonus it tends to up to x% with a percentage of that based on your performance and the rest on the company’s performance so unless the company has hit all its goals and you exceeded expectations then you won’t get 10%

[ThisIsWhatIDo]

You need to check the wording of your contract; when I worked in a role with a bonus it said something along the lines of it being discretionary subject to performance and the company's success. Also that being paid the bonus one year did not guarantee future bonus payments.

[Stomster]

The offer was probably that your bonus could be up to 10% of your salary but that would likely be subject to a range of performance indicators being met - both your own and the company's.

[MogTheMoogle]

It sounds like a timing thing - often if you've only been in a role a couple of months or still in probation you wouldn't be eligible for a pay review last year, at July.

It sounds like they do happen annually, just not on your work anniversary but inline with the company. If you'd started November, it sounds like you'd have had review 7/8 months in.

Bonuses are bonus - that said, did you check the criteria to get 10%? I wouldn't expect a 10% bonus without some "strings" so to speak...otherwise why wouldn't they just put it in your salary? Some sort of performance based - individually, team or company - or combination there of.

[Sparklybanana]

I've had bonuses as part of my contract but in 3 jobs I've only ever had it twice since 2008. What irks me most is that the crickets can be heard bit no manager actually goes through why there is no bonus.
Pay rises - push for one at any time of the year. If you think there is a valid reason then ask for one. I have had tweaks to pay from their side but the largest increases have been from my persistence. Unfortunately those reasons are because of pay discrepancies.

[frankentall]

@ThisIsWhatIDo

You need to check the wording of your contract; when I worked in a role with a bonus it said something along the lines of it being discretionary subject to performance and the company's success. Also that being paid the bonus one year did not guarantee future bonus payments.

As stated in my OP there is zero mention of the bonus in my contract except to say it's not paid if someone's leaving.

[frankentall]

@Stomster

The offer was probably that your bonus could be up to 10% of your salary but that would likely be subject to a range of performance indicators being met - both your own and the company's.

I think that's what they probably should have said - "up to" etc - but they didn't say that at any point, either in writing or verbally.

[frankentall]

@Flyonthewall01

from my experience you never get a pay increase in your first year as the company assumes you were happy with the salary when you accepted it. After judging you’d performance by the next review they might then give you a % increase.
in terms of bonus it tends to up to x% with a percentage of that based on your performance and the rest on the company’s performance so unless the company has hit all its goals and you exceeded expectations then you won’t get 10%

I'm not asking for a review in the first year - I have completed the year.

[mynameiscalypso]

@Didimum

Opinions will differ but to me this is entitlement culture – I don't think employees deserve pay rewards simply for time served that are not related to performance. However, if the company has cultivated this entitled culture with its employees and then not clarified when it applies, then that's on them.

Yes, I think when taking a pay cut, it is on you to determine all the details that make that a dealbreaker or not to you.

Wherever I've worked, pay rises are linked to inflation and the cost of living. If inflation is going up but you don't follow that with pay rises that are in line with that, people will end up being 'poorer' each month. Obviously promotions are different

[Ilovemyshed]

Bonus is generally discretionary unless a specific amount is written into your contract. Its also usual that bonuses are only paid if the company hits certain financial targets so for example a 10% of tour gross salary bonus paid out if the company hits £xx profit and a sliding reduction or increase on a percentage basis depending on company results.

[Clearinguptheclutter]

Bonuses are never guaranteed and are often more to do with company rather than personal performance, or a mixture. You should never have relied on getting a bonus.

unfortunately it’s quite normal for pay rises to be very hard to nail down these days. However it sound like July is not much more than a year after you joined?

[Appleblum]

It's pretty standard for companies to hold pay reviews once a year at a certain time - July in your case.

The only bonus I've seemed guaranteed is when they promise you a 13th month bonus. Other than that it's always discretionary.

Your company's policy sounds pretty standard.

[frankentall]

Thanks all for the replies - a lot of food for thought.

The company is making plenty of profit - but that may of course be by ensuring they never give much in the way of rises :)