No christmas gift/bonus AIBU to be put out?

[CoastalMummy]

I work in a high pressure sales job with large targets. I have done the same thing for nearly 20 years. Every year I get a Christmas bonus and gift. It’s not contracted but very much the norm. Gifts have ranged from a lovely bottle of champagne to a very extravagant hotel stay.

This year my company was struggling to follow through with all the sales I had made so they asked me to stop selling for the last 5 months of the year to allow them to catch up. I agreed knowing it would dramatically affect my salary but thought ‘short term pain for long term gain’ etc. I am nothing if not a team player. I of course know that this would affect the company’s overall revenue so I didn’t expect a bonus at all. But I have to be honest, I’m incredibly hurt that they didn’t even think to send a nice bottle of wine or something just to say thank you for everything you have done this year.

AIBU to be put out here? It’s really upset me and I can’t shake it.

So you took a loss because of their incompetence and weren't compensated at all?

I would absolutly look for another job and also demand a meeting in the new year to discuss getting your pay protected so this doesn't happen again.
But leave anyway.

I never get a Christmas Bonus or gift and dont expect one. however I dont work in a sales environment so I understand your expectations are different - and i think i'd be annoyed too if I were you. If it's not contractual though there'snot a lot you can do about it.

I'd be more worried about my long term prospects st the firm though 0 if they can't fulfil their orders that would be a worry for me. If you are a sales person - and have been told not to sell for the last 5 months - what have you been doing even?? Perhaps it might be time to start looking elsewhere for a firm where sales targets are rewarded better.

@Snoopdoggydog123 I think incompetence is a bit strong. It’s a relatively young company that is growing faster than it can handle. There are equity prospects hence my decision to be a team player. You are right though, I should perhaps have a conversation in the new year.

I've never had a bonus, my last place of work would give wine,chocolates or amazon (£50) vouchers at various "holidays" throughout the year and in my line of work that's very very generous. My previous place of work, well my boss couldn't even send us a Christmas card! I can't relate to being upset about it, I suppose it's because I've never had it. Maybe your company are doing cut backs. Maybe the budget isn't there anymore. If I was that bothered and had the money, I'd go and buy myself something. At least I'd get something I liked!

She's been told not to sell for the last 5 months 'dramatically affecting my salary' as per the OP, I doubt she has spare cash to treat herself in lieu of the company doing so even after she made that sacrifice.

I could never afford a "dramatic drop" in my salary, so I presumed she was able to take the hit. It wouldn't be possible for me.

@Rainbowdottie It’s not about getting something, it’s the lack of recognition and thanks from the company that I’m upset about. Even a token £20 bottle of wine and a card would have meant something to me.

I meant buy yourself something as in congratulation to yourself. Congratulations on being a team player. Congratulations on doing what was best for your company. If you really need that validation from your company, and you haven't had it and it means so much to you, then you are going to have say something imo.

My career is HR related and when I saw your thread title, I was all set to rant about bonuses being just that... a bonus. But this is wholly different. Are you back in selling mode yet? Whilst I appreciate you are defensive of the company and your loyalty is great (and understandable if there is a potential of equity) there is certainly a degree of incompetence here! I would ask for a meeting to discuss the company's future, what they've put in place to ensure this doesn't happen again and some sort of safety net for yourself if they are not able to keep up with sales again in the future. I would also look to get something in concrete about the equity. I'd be a rich woman if I had a £100 for every candidate I've dealt with that was promised equity that never materialised. It's a lovely carrot to dangle to keep your quality and level of loyalty but it's very common for company owners to be reluctant to dilute their company ownership.

Have a chat with them, set some boundaries and, if nothing is put in writing, it may be time to reconsider.

@TomorrowTodayYesterday Thank you very much for responding with some stellar advice. You're absolutely right and I will have to tackle it in the new year with the co-founders.

Absolutely talk to them about the sales strategy for this year and your compensation structure. Ask them what they are doing about issuing shares to you. If that's based on targets then you aren't going to get shares whilst you are being held back from selling.

Realistically what will equity give you? Will there be dividends? (management dividend often lower than main shareholders). Is there a plan to exit? Is it a realistic prospect for say PE investment or trade sale in 5 years? If you have to hang on on a lower salary for 5 years for a pay day that might never come you will be annoyed!

@ZenNudist Thankfully equity is based on years of service not sales otherwise I wouldn’t have accepted this path.

We’re currently out for PE which is why we’re in this awkward growth position. Exit plan is 8 years currently but I think it’ll be 10 in reality.

You’re absolutely right about having an explicit conversation about delivery strategy for next year because it’s not fair to expect me to do this again.

It’s not a race to the bottom.

I can’t believe you’re defending their actions.

‘Equity prospects’? Does that mean you currently have no equity?

Don’t get shafted. If you’re out for PE, they’ll want to retain as much of the equity as possible. Insist on an immediate share, given the sacrifice you made last year. If they are reluctant, start looking for another job.

This is good advice

OP - I’m in a similar unicorn pre IPO such type business but no way would they say stop selling so Ops and Delivery can ‘catch up’. That’s alarm bells for wider funding issues from investors imho. Why can’t they get funding to help with this if the growth is so strong and backs up the numbers for returns? Investors should be wanting to get involved early.

Ignoring that, as I think there do need to be allowances for what others think are weird requests and behaviours because, as you say, equity = short term pain for long term gain.

However - working insane hours (I do and I’m ok with this), what we need to draw the line at is the company culture which is embedded in Day 1.

The treatment of you is establishment of company culture in a company where you undoubtedly are going to be working far far more than in a ‘normal’ business if they’re operating in hyper growth. Burn out is real in Unicorn companies….if it is a Unicorn?

Assuming (and a big assumption) you’re in IT, this isn’t something you should put up with. I would move elsewhere.

Also PE v IPO…PE is not usually the situation where equity is thrown around.

I will come from this as the one who pays the bonus and gifts. Business is very hard and 2024 was a notoriously bad year for a lot of businesses. What we find is the staff get to expect the bonus as we have been paying it for years, so if one year we didn't pay it there would be an uproar and discontent.
If a small business as you say, you should ask for a 1 to 1 with a senior person and raise your concern, they may be in a worrying financial position and you need to be aware of.
Asking a salesperson to not sell for 5 months is a very unusual request. Makes no sense.