Work annual bonus please help!

[ChezzaB]

Hi I returned to work part time about a month ago after 9 mo ML and the buzz about the office was that the manager has been round to each individual and told them they are to receive a £1800 bonus in their November salary which was paid in December! I received nothing! How does this work our financial year runs November to November from November 2007 to Feb 2008 I was actually working, should I receive something for this period??? Also if I accrue holiday whilst on ML should I not therefor accrue bonus? I'm pretty sure I should be entitled to at least something but was hoping someone out there might be able to shed some light on the matter!

You should receive a bonus on a pro-rata basis - the amount normally depends on your performance review for the time you were at work.

It's complicated and depends what the bonus is for, and the terms and conditions of the bonus scheme. it doesn't sound performance related if everyone got the same.

I'm going to copy and paste from the working families website which has a good section on this.

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This is a complicated area as there are different types of bonuses and there have been many tribunal cases on this issue. You should check the type of bonus (contractual or discretionary), what it has been paid for and the period to which it relates. If you have been refused all or part of a bonus discuss it with your employer and if you cannot agree seek further advice. At present the law states that you are entitled to the following:

Bonus or commission payments which are not part of your normal salary should be paid in full during OML. For example, a Christmas bonus is not usually your normal pay and should almost certainly be paid during OML. Also, if a bonus such as a Christmas bonus has been paid to the whole workforce, it may be sex discrimination to refuse to pay it to a woman on maternity leave.

Commission that is part of your salary or performance-related pay is likely to be classed as remuneration so it is not payable during OML. However, it would be sex discrimination to refuse to pay the proportion of any bonus or commission that relates to the time that you were actually at work (this was decided in the case of Lewen v Denda). For example, if you were at work for half the year and on maternity leave for the other half of the year, you should be paid half of the bonus. You are also entitled to the proportion of any bonus that relates to the time you were on compulsory maternity leave (two weeks immediately following the birth of the baby or four weeks for factory workers). This was decided in the case of Hoyland v Asda.

If a bonus, such as a loyalty bonus, has been paid to employees ?in work? on a certain date (when you were on maternity leave) then it could be sex discrimination to refuse to pay you because of your absence on maternity leave (this was decided in the case of Gus Home Shopping v Green and McLaughlin).

You are not entitled to contractual rights during AML. However, as with OML, it may be sex discrimination to refuse to pay all or part of a bonus because you are on AML. You are definitely entitled to at least the proportion of any bonus or commission that relates to the time you were in work and for the period of compulsory maternity leave.

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Hope that helps.

I agree with all of that except the final paragraph - I am sure there is a case whereby it was decided that if you were not in office because of PG/OML then - on basis that only women get PG - it would be sex discrim to pro-rata. I also got similar advice as a manager deciding bonuses from Freshfields (v good lawyers).

Will see if I can find the case, Nomura, I think

I'm all for supporting women going back to work etc etc but why should they get a full annual bonus if they weren't actually working for the full 12 months? seems absurd that you should get a bonus for time you weren't actually there.

Aaargh. the one I was thinking of is proving elusive, but my views remain - here is some guidance - if truly discriminatory and not linked to past performance (unlikely because everyone got the same) and not contractual, then they are not in strong position to deny, and they may not be able to pro-rata payment, either.

RQ - the law is really wishy-washy here but basically paying discretionary bonuses is an absolute nightmare - discretionary is used to cover a multitude of unfair treatment practices. In this case the law supports pro-rating where the qualifications for earning the bonus are clear and unambigous (eg based on performance, part of contractual terms, etc) but where there is a bonus that is completely shrouded in mystery in terms of how it is decided, then the law (quite rightly IMO) errs on side of caution. anything which forces bonuses and what they are based on oput into the open is a v good thing I think (just as I wholly approve of ridiculously high sex discrim payments as they rightly force companies to clean up their act)