Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Work

Chat with other users about all things related to working life on our Work forum.

Flip

Original poster

Part paid my bonus for being on maternity leave - new policy came into force bonus day 2005!!!!!

22 replies

beachyhead · 12/01/2006 22:37

I work for a fairly big financial institution and this year I have been on maternity leave since August. When bonus day came around, and it is significant, being about 30% of your salary - I was informed on the phone that the policy had changed and I was now being part paid as I had been off on maternity leave. I have checked with the EOC and they have sent me bumph that seem to suggest that this is not allowed....I have a meeting on Monday with HR and I'm bricking it. There are about four of us who this has happened to, but one has been paid off, the other two are about to leave so I feel very alone. Has this happened to others????

OP posts:

Original poster

beachyhead · 12/01/2006 22:57

bump

OP posts:

Blondeinlondon · 12/01/2006 22:57

What time period does your bonus cover?

Original poster

beachyhead · 12/01/2006 22:58

It covers 2005, when I was there for 7 months

OP posts:

hunkermunker · 12/01/2006 23:00

If you are on maternity leave, you are treated as though you are at work. If you would've got a 30$ bonus if you were going into work, that's what you should've received on maternity leave.

I get a bonus in April/May time - I've been on maternity leave for it once already and will be again this year.

They're breaking the law and being discriminatory - if they're a large financial institution, I would imagine the papers would like to hear of it... Just a thought, if they continue to be awkward. Good luck with the meeting.

hunkermunker · 12/01/2006 23:00

Obv that's 30% - I don't know I'd kick up a fuss for 30 dollars...!

Blondeinlondon · 12/01/2006 23:02

I worked for a small-med mgmt consultancy
They paid bonus to people based on the time worked so you would have got 7/12 of whatever bonus % you were given

If you got bonus every year and it was always at least 25% say that it was custom and practice and you expected to receive it

Original poster

beachyhead · 12/01/2006 23:11

I wouldn't have minded but last year when one of my employees was on maternity leave, they checked the policy and we paid her the full year (which is how I imagined it should be). However to change the policy this year in Dec and then backdate it seems very rich to me......... Also any change in policy need to have the approval of employees, so I'll be putting my non-acceptance in writing. However, don't want to massively change my job as it is quite hard to find another part time job in the City.....

OP posts:

firstimemum · 12/01/2006 23:18

This doesnt sound right to me, speaking as a lawyer. Your terms of employment (which would include bonuses and maternity leave) cannot be changed retrospectively I dont think. Perhaps they can change your T of E for the future but not for the past. So if it is a new policy about being part paid your bonus it should not apply to any time before they bring in the new policy. If the cut to your bonus takes retrospective affect you should certainly kick up a stink as this would be discriminiation. Do you have a copyof your contract? Make sure you have a look at it befor your meeting with HR. GOOD LUCK. sorry, re-reading this back I've not been very eloquent - time for bed I think!

Original poster

beachyhead · 12/01/2006 23:23

Don't worry, have my contract....really just wondered if this had been tried on with anyone else.....

OP posts:

kitegirl · 13/01/2006 08:58

hey beachy, sounds fishy to me. Having been there (ex-City, I fought an equal pay case relating to bonuses on my departure) I feel for you. Take notes in the meeting, record everything, voice your concerns, put it in writing and stand your ground. The City institutions are a lot more aware of discrimination issues these days than they were 4 years ago, hopefully a chat with your HR will be enough. Good luck!!!

VeniVidiVickiQV · 13/01/2006 09:03

agree with firstimemum.

Companies try things like this often.

They can certainly change policies, but not retrospectively. Im not even sure they can change policy to slash bonuses you would have automatically got would you not have been on Mat Leave. Certainly ask them to honour 2005 bonus at the very least.

firstimemum · 13/01/2006 10:51

They can only change your conditions retrospectively if you agree to the change - perhaps that is what they are trying to get you and the others to do at the forthcoming HR meeting? Dont give up your existing rights to your bonus etc unless you are happy with what you will get in return. I work for a big City law firm and they can be very devious in getting what they want and screwing people without breaking the law - I've learnt to be very prepared and cautious around salary review / bonus time (and am currently freaking out about putting in an application to work part time when my maternity leave ends in June). You would think they would be the best employers but I've found (with my boss anyway) them to be worse. Good luck with the meeting!

clerkKent · 13/01/2006 13:22

beachyhead, I used to work in HR for a financial institution in the city (until late last year). Bonuses are (more or less) non-contractual, not a right (except by established practice). The policy will usually say individual bonuses are dependent on a combination of company, department and individual performance. We used to reduce bonuses for staff who had been on maternity leave, but by a smaller proportion than the time not at work.

Original poster

beachyhead · 16/01/2006 21:47

Ok, had my meeting today. Yes, they said it would have been nice if they could have informed the staff of the proposed change to paying bonus's when on maternity leave, but.....well, I have handed in one formal letter saying I object to the policy change and also one formal letter 'stating my grievance' as in they didn't tell me they were making the change, didn't give appropriate notice. Also, that I had an expectation, based on previous policy that they would pay the bonus etc.... So now I will wait their response....

As a basic question, judging from the EOC stuff I received, it seems that you cannot NOT pay a full bonus if someone is on maternity leave. The EOC were equally confused, as I am, about whether a bonus is discretionaty or contractual. Even if the company says it is discretionary, apparently it may become contractual if it is paid at the same time each year and is mentioned in your original contract..(both of which, it is). So I wait and see (and look for another job at the same time, I suspect.....

OP posts:

clerkKent · 17/01/2006 13:01

It depends what the original contract said about how the bonus is determined. I think there is a strong argument in a big financial institution that bonuses are contractual, since they are paid every year and are a substantial proportion of total compensation. But the institution almost certainly has discretion about how the bonus is calculated.

I would expect them to give way completely or offer a compromise, but the policy will apply to future maternity leavers.

Firefox · 17/01/2006 13:16

Beachy - I work for a large financial institution in the city, and when I was on maternity leave my bonus was reduced due to me being on maternity leave. This also happened to me when I was at my last place of work - also a large finacial institution. Their argument was that bonus' are discretionary and based on lots of factors such as performance etc, hence my reduction.

CountessDracula · 17/01/2006 13:24

Yes this happened to me to. Bonuses are performance related and as a result are not paid when on mat leave. This was in the mat leave policy

LIZS · 17/01/2006 13:37

Mine was prorated for the period I actually worked during the year concerned. So I tagged the accumulated balance of my holiday onto the front of ML to maximise the number of weeks' worth I would get.

Original poster

beachyhead · 19/01/2006 09:55

Had a formal acknowledgement of my letter sent to my house last night. I am being called to a meeting next week. It's not actually the fact of whether it was discretionary; it is that fact that on bonus day, they decide to save a few bob, and backdate this part payment.....and I know that in all the years I have worked there, they have always paid in full. I think if they change the policy, they have to give you more than 10 seconds notice.

OP posts:

Klara · 26/01/2006 10:37

i'M A BIT LATE TO THE PARTY ON THIS ONE, BUt I also work in the city for a large institution and they are NOT ALLOWED TO PRO RATA YOU if you are on maternity leave. the last time I was, i was paid in full when I returned and i will expect to be again next year.

Speak to your HR department - I had a friend this happened to. When she told HRthat what they had done was illegal they couldn';t pay up fast enough.

klara

clerkKent · 26/01/2006 13:01

Klara, they are not allowed to pro-rate by formula, but they can easily dress it up as something else. The major institution I worked for did this as a matter of course.

Firefox · 26/01/2006 13:05

exactly - they do dress it up as something else. In my case it was always performance as the excuse, which was marked as average, and then the minimum paid. Plus we always got reminded that bonus' are discretionary too and therefore the comapany is not obligated to pay.

Flip