Retention Payment

[Mummyto4WM]

Hi ladies, wondered if anyone knew anything about employment rights.

So I've been in my current job for 2 years (on the 5th August). I've just been offered a new job. On my 2 year anniversary I'm entitled to a retention bonus of £2k. If I hand my notice in now, can they refused to pay me it?

My notice period of 3 months so I'll be well past the 2 years by the time I leave. I've searched all the HR files and there's no small print, no requirement to pay it back if you leave, no nothing besides its paid on your 2 year anniversary

TIA

No idea legally but from a common sense point of view I wouldn’t expect to receive a retention payment if I’d handed my notice in.

Hmm that’s a tricky one. When is your actual pay day? Do you know if the payment comes through as a stand alone or more likely combined with your august pay?

I believe retention bonuses are not usually paid to people who have resigned and are working out their notice. I was in a similar situation a while ago and my boss tried to persuade me to rescind mu notice and work for them for a couple more months in order to get the bonus. I worked out that the pay rise I would be getting by moving to the new job was worth more than the bonus so I left on schedule anyway.

Retention bonuses aren't a "right" - they are a gift. Gifts aren't something you can demand. Seems pretty obvious that there's no point giving a 'Retention Bonus' to someone who hasn't been retained.

Last Friday of the month - but the pay approval cut off point is the 12th. So in theory, should my manager approve it before the 12th, I'd get it in my end of August pay cheque.

@OpizpuHeuvHiyo I didn't plan on demanding anything.

my boss tried to persuade me to rescind my notice - my boss knows I went for another interview. She was in full support of my career progression. She said to me wait, until the 5th before I hand in my notice. Obviously I didn't want to wait 3 weeks, if I weren't then going to get the bonus- hence the question I asked

I don't think i agree it is "a gift" it is in my contract- it was part of the package they offered people moving to them from neighbouring authorities.

They do not have to pay it to you if you have resigned same with bonuses etc.

What does it say in your contract? Normally it would specify that if you resign before the bonus is paid, then you won’t receive it. In addition, a two year retention bonus won’t necessarily be paid out at 2 years, sometimes it’s in the payday that follows, but sometimes it is paid when annual bonuses are paid, which is usually at a specific point in the year.

No idea about your line of work but bonuses aren't paid to those in their notice period in my job

There will be terms somewhere you need to ask for them

Even if you waited until the 5th like your manager suggests you would still be in your notice period when payroll cut off so could still miss it.

I really can't see they would pay a retention bonus to someone who isn't staying

I have no idea of your work place policy but I would be amazed if you receive a retention bonus whilst working your notice.

Very unlikely to pay it if you hand in your notice before it. My retention bonus contract explicitly stated that. Do you not have a contract for it?

If I were you and on good enough terms that my manager was aware I'd email and ask...

@GargoylesofBeelzebub my contract says "As you are moving from a neighbouring authority, your package includes xxxxx, plus a retention bonus of £2,000 payable on your two year anniversary." It then moves on completely with no further mention. I went through all the policies on our HR intranet but there was no mention of retention payments anywhere.

My manager is on holiday, we've worked together in different authorities for 9 years, so we get on well. She was the one who said "carefully time your resignation, to ensure you get your retention bonus as you've earnt it" I'd totally forgotten about!

I'll await her return and discuss it with her.

Do you have a colleague you trust who could email HR on your behalf although keeping you anonymous and ask?

Put your resignation in after 5th August.

I’m sure they will argue it’s not payable if you’ve given your notice. Just wait a few weeks

You either ask your new employer to compensate you or you wait until after you’ve received it before you resign.

Many companies will rescind a bonus up until the actual pay run itself (which is usually a few days before pay day) even if a bonus has already been approved, if they resign it gets cancelled. So in your case even if manager approves bonus on 12th Aug (assuming they are unaware of resignation intentions), you risk it being not paid if you resign before it hits your account.

Check your main contract for any mention about bonuses but as other posters have said I’d be shocked if you get it while on notice, especially for a retention bonus.

I know people who’ve received letters mid-month saying they would receive bonus x in end of month pay cheque, then resigned thinking it was guaranteed and then found out they wouldn’t get bonus (as per their contract because on notice period).

Safest approach IMO is resign after payday. (Or ask new company to amend their compensation package to reflect loss of bonus).

The word “retention” was included in the contract to indicate that the whole purpose of the bonus is to entice you to stay on with the employer. If you’ve already told them you’re not staying on then you have no right to receive a retention bonus.

Contrary to what many on this thread think, it depends on the terms of the bonus scheme. If the scheme states that the employee must be employed and not under notice of termination, the employer can withhold it if the employee has resigned. If the scheme does not include any such provision, the employer cannot withhold it. Even if the scheme does contain such a provision, Employment Tribunals have ordered that the bonus must be paid if the employee has not been made fully aware of the provisions prior to handing in their notice.

@prh47bridge Thank you for this. There's no small print anywhere, I checked my contract and all the contractual T&Cs on our HR intranet. As I couldn't find anything anywhere, I thought I'd ask the question. Thank you

to the rest...
Hi ladies,
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm going to just wait for my manager to return off annual leave, which is 1st August and have the open discussion with her then.

I felt there was some unfair arsey comments on this post. I werent demanding the payment. I think most people would wait 2 weeks, if it meant getting £2000 extra in their pay packet. So, sometimes put yourself in other people's position before commenting.

You could go back to new employer and say if I hand my notice in before the end of August I will lose my £2k bonus, are you able to match that as a joining bonus

What did your manager say OP?

Still payable! She said the issue was raised 6 or so weeks ago with another employee leaving. Something they hadnt been faced with before as the retention payments have only been in place a year. She confirmed they didn't have a policy!

So it's still payable, whilst they create a policy, alongside unions, but it can't be retrospective as there was no clause in our contracts.

So, I handed in my notice last week - and I had an email today saying 12 month anniversary payment will be in my next pay cheque (it was interesting they didn't use the word retention payment at all in the email)

They would have the option to pay in lieu of notice (PILON). Some employers would opt for this and in that case you wouldn’t be employed on the anniversary date.

Never heard this, so had a quick Google? Payment in lieu of notice (PILON) is a clause in an employment contract that allows an employer to pay an employee instead of having them work their notice period. This means the employee can stop working immediately, and the contract ends right away. How does this relate? They've asked whether I would consider extending my notice period from 3 months to December, until 2 women return from maternity from another department.