Job offering £1000 welcome bonus, what's the catch?

[Wevegottomovethesecolourtvs]

I'm assuming it'll be paid after probation which is fair enough, paid in increments and taxed? So it won't quite be a case of, here's £1000 for you. Has anyone else had one of these welcoming bonuses in a job? How did you receive it?

Thats a sure sign of high turnover and not an attractive position if they're having to give cash incentives to join the company. How long is the probation? I'd question what do the loyal staff who stay working there get. Are they cheaping out buy offering a one off lump sum instead of a decent wage package?

Id wonder how many people stay on
long enough to get the bonus tbh.

Id wonder how many people stay on
long enough to get the bonus tbh.

It's a nursery role, I can't see any info online about their probation but I'll phone them to ask.

It's a role requiring QTS so pays more than min wage fortunately, but I am curious to know how the £1000 is paid. Like you say possibly not a good sign..

They normally have to be paid back if you leave within a year or 2 years.

I'd assume they are struggling for staff, so consider why that might be. If there is a general shortage of trained staff in the area, fair enough... but could be as others have said, high turnover and poor retention of staff.

It's not unusual in teaching. Some subjects, in secondary it's much higher.

It does, of course, reflect difficulty recruiting, but not necessarily that it's a terrible place to work.

I'd expect it to be paid as a lump sum at the end of your probation, and it will be subject to tax and NI. You also need to be careful if you have a UC claim that might be affected by a one off bumper month.

I got £1000 welcome bonus in my job, half when I started and half when I finished my probation. It did go into my wages and I got taxed on it though 😐

I had a friend, also in the education sector, who received a similar golden hello. The employers were pretty sure they were going to be Ofsteded soon and they were short of experienced staff in her specialism.

She did have to commit to stay for a certain length of time - can’t remember if it was 2 or 3 years. She was paid it early on but would have had to pay it back if she’d left early.

It did work. They took on quite a few good people and got a better Ofsted grade than they’d got before. But once Ofsted was over, she did feel that management slipped back into their old ways and she moved on once her time was up.

I wouldn't be so hasty to think it's the case that they are not a good employer/have high turnover.

Paying a 'golden hello' can be a way of attracting applicants that you otherwise might not. Sometimes it might not be paid until you've worked there a certain amount of time ...say a year.
It is especially used when you have a vacancy that is really hard to fill.

Is this in SE London chain? If it's my nursery, most people didn't ever receive it, including me! I only of one person who received it, and that's because she kept on at management about it.

You're supposed to get £500 in first pay packet, and the other £500 after probation

Well I wouldn’t have let a free chunk of mo ey slip away. That’s on you.