AIBU to be upset that my end of year bonus is significantly less than last year?

[laylababe5]

I've worked for my company for 7 years. My bonus last year was 4% of my salary. This year I got 3%, even though we've had a particularly hectic year and I feel like I've worked just as hard, if not much harder, than last year. I'm behind on my workload and my requests for help have fallen on deaf ears. I'm being asked why xyz is not done, but when I say I don't have enough hours in the day, I'm told I just have to get on with it like everyone else. I've loved working for this company and have been happy, albeit a bit overwhelmed of late. I'm wondering if I should say something about the reduction in my bonus.

YABU - say nothing and work harder
YANBU - ask why my bonus was so much less this year

I worked in the public sector, in the last few years in a senior role. Didn't earn much and never had a bonus, though I worked my socks off and always had fantastic appraisals.
I think suck it up.

It could be based on the company's profits. Because costs have gone up they may have made less than last year!

That’s the public sector for you. One of the reasons I chose never to work for them!

Sid you get a Defined Benwfit pension? If so, that’s a life long bonus!

A bonus? What is that! As a Christmas gift I just get more kids calling me a cu*t because I won’t let them wander around destroying lessons, damaging equipment and telling anyone who will listen we are violating their human rights! enjoy your bonus…. I had to pay a pound to wear a Christmas jumper!

Whats a bonus??

On what basis do you believe a bonus is tax-free? I think you must be confused.

A bonus is another form of income so it is most certainly taxed.

So many people on here who have no idea of how bonuses are treated in some companies, particularly financial industry. Bonuses are treated as part of your salary, in the eyes of a potential employee. They are also taxed. Some aren’t even given in cash, but vested shares which you have to wait 5 years for before you can convert to cash.

When people sign on, they might get a guaranteed bonus for the first year (to make up for potentially losing out on bonus with previous company). That means less money in the bonus pot for other employees. Often, the salary negotiated seems low, but the bonus is what makes the offer attractive.

Bonuses can be used as a way to get rid of people too. Employees can be given no or a low bonus; it’s very much a way of telling them that they’d be better off looking for a new job. In the banking industry, people regularly get fired before bonus payment, just so their bonuses don’t get paid and can go back into the pot to pay for new starters or the superstars. Unfortunately paying that extra 1% for a superstar might mean a perfectly good employee like OP having her bonus cut.

Oh, and a drop from 4% to 3% is not 1%, but a quarter = 25%!

OP, do you get an annual salary review, or just a performance review? I’d wait for that. Try and negotiate a pay rise, as suggested above. Discretionary bonuses are always going to be subject to fluctuations.

It's not a race to the bottom, aka Monty Python 4 Yorkshireman. I've only ever had one bonus in 20 years, but got a big one this year, only the 2nd I've ever had.

But unfortunately your contract says it's discretionary, and up to 10%, so not guaranteed.

It's a sign of the times a sadly, that things are more cutthroat, tighter, firms don't have so many big Christmas parties that partners attend aswell.

I would ask for more bonus!

if you don’t ask you don’t get - think Trump

The bonus scheme is stated in my contract of employment. I'm in the private sector.

I get an annual salary review. My salary has been increased every year I've been there. I'm not very good at negotiating increases, but then I've always been happy with the increase and not felt the need to ask for more. Our salary and performance reviews are very informal. It's a very small company.

No thanks! Please don't sully this thread with that man's name! 🤢🤢🤢🤢

Discretionary is the key word here.

Usually bonuses are a mix of company performance & individual performance. Bonus plan rules should be communicated to participants as well as metrics, and targets, at the start of the year.
You should also receive a statement showing you your payout at year end.
Id ask your boss for a breakdown of the calculation, and what metrics make up the bonus.
If there’s an individual performance element, this should’ve been discussed with you as part of your performance review.

All that being said, my guess is it’s been a bad year and your company has paid out at threshold (minimum).

"Out of the goodness of their heart" LMFAO !!!
In my sector, the bonus is the performance-related element of your pay. So imagine three team members on roughly the same salary, one does a barely acceptable job, but nothing to actually dismiss them for, one does good work, one does excellent work. The first gets no bonus, the second gets a small bonus, the third gets a larger bonus.
If the company has a bad year, the total in the bonus pool is cut and everyone gets less, so the bonuses cannot be contractual, but it is understood by everyone that good employees who are unhappy with their total package for the year will probably walk. This is definitely not something our employers do to be nice!

Well in my sector it's totally out of the goodness of the heart. Not performance related, same amount for every staff member. A gift. Not in the contract, not entitled to it. A freely given thing to be nice at xmas.

OP doesn't say in her OP which sector she's in or if it's contracted or not. If it was contracted presumably she wouldn't have made the thread because she'd know what she was getting and it would all be written down.

Literally her second post on the thread :
"I work in IT earning well above minimum wage. My contract states a discretionary bonus of up to 10% of my annual salary. "

Unless your contract guarantees the same bonus every year (which it won’t, they’re discretionary), you have no reason to expect that.

You’re lucky to receive a bonus. If you don’t think it’s been fairly calculated, then take that up with your manager.

We get an Xmas bonus which isn't part of the contract and could be anything, one year its was 3k and on year nothing so you can't rely on it and its on the whim of whoever is in charge at the time. Not been announced for this year.

We also have an annual performance bonus which is part of the contract and forms part of our overall renumeration package. This is is calculated according to a formula so everyone know where they stand.

Depends on which one it is before I would question it.

Count yourself lucky you get a bonus