No even a token bonus

[Christmasishere2025]

I started a new job a month ago. Everyone got a bonus, even people who have been there 3 months got 5%, others more. Am I unreasonable to think I should have got something ? Perhaps just a token 1%of my salary. I am also one the lowest person paid in the company despite my experience.

I am really trying to focus on the positives but this is really getting me down.

You’re only a month in, a token of appreciation for what? A month in is still such early days, there’s nothing to be appreciative of unless you pulled the boss out of a fire? You will still be learning the ropes of the company

Edit: snap with post above 😆

You shouldn’t be expecting anything after a month. A good proportion of us work in job where there are no bonuses at all.

I’d also make sure you word your query over roles and salary very carefully. If you’re questioning your role and your salary after such a short period I’d be wondering if you were actually going to stick around and thinking why did you take the job if you weren’t happy with what was being offered.

Absolutely this. One month in they know FA about you. Your desire for them to randomly show appreciation says more about you than them. That attitude may not serve you well long term.

We get no Christmas bonus. To add insult to injury we got a phishing test email tempting us to click by asking us to select which shop we want our Xmas bonus voucher for 😂

I would expect your manager to acknowledge you and get you some chocolates or something. They must know you’d be left out.
I’m in public sector so Christmas bonus is line managers buying treats for the team. Sometimes we get a 2 hr time off bonus but not this year as we’re desperately short staffed.
One of my team bought me a bar of chocolate 🙂.
I still remember the new recruit who asked about Christmas bonuses - and couldn’t believe we had to bring in our own tea and coffee and milk!

Did you have an annual review?

OMG my employer tried something similar and had to issue a formal apology. Dicks

I once worked for an employer who gave a bonus to all staff at the end of March every year. In order to receive the bonus, you needed to have been employed on the 1 January. I started work there on something like the 4th January, so didn't get the bonus.
Maybe there was a qualifying date set by your employer and like me, you started working there after that date?

Where I work, everyone got a Christmas bonus however long they've been there. It was £100 per person this year. At DH's workplace, the bonus is more generous (a % of salary) but you wouldn't be entitled to it after only a month. In both cases there is a transparent system that is applied consistently. What would be unfair is if someone in the same position as you received a bonus while you didn't.

Actually not a drain as I hit the ground running as the person I am replacing has been off and is leaving

I doubt they just make it up as they go. If they're a big enough company to have a HR person then they probably have a policy about minimum length of service required for a bonus.

In my company it's actually 3 months!

Something like that would be nice; but I doubt it would happen, they are off and will be leaving soon and I don’t think the Directors have thought of it.

How on earth can you work in HR and finance and not be familiar with any of this? Surely there are policies which, in your role, you should understand?

I qualify for my bonus at 10% and I have been at my company 1.5 months. It will be prorated. This is normal if the bonus is in your contract. Depends how good the employer is. YANBU.

You need to find a new job

DH sorts the bonuses for his place at the end of October. You might not have been there when it was sorted. YABU, a month in a new job is barely anything. That's just over 20 days work!

You’re being absolutely ridiculous. You are barely in the door. Usually it’s at least 4 months before you get a bonus; often longer. Many places don’t do bonuses at all.

are you new to the workplace?

You’ve only been there a month. I got a single bonus in 6 years at my company. They just stopped doing them… except for the CEO of course who got £4m one year.

The three month people have likely passed probation whereas you haven’t

That’s silly, you’ve been there a month. They will have had a certain qualifying date that you have to have been working there on to get the bonus. You missed it this year. It sucks but they’ve got to have rules because it would make it really difficult for the relevant teams to sign off the bonus otherwise.

Yep my thoughts exactly

Lol. You're in HR, so new you don't even know the rules around bonus allocation yet you feel entitled to some appreciation and a token few hundred.

It’s probably in policy and they ha no discretion to give you a cash bonus. But yeah, they could have got you a box of chocs or something.

But you have to acknowledge there's a settling in period whilst you learn the business, things like the bonus schedule and rules. During that time you're not as effective as an established employee or even one who's been there 3 months

Let's hope your employer doesn't find out that after a month in the role you're posting online about colleagues' pay and bonuses which you have access to through your role. Rather unprofessional?