Apparently I should have had a bonus.....

MissAqua

I work for a local government dept, and in 2008 we had a big project going on and I was heavily involved and did lots of extra work that was not in my job description.

I have just found out this week that after this project I was put forward by the very senior manager at the time for an ‘honorarium payment’. This person has since left.

It turns out that my direct line manager was under the impression I got this bonus for this work I did….. but I didn’t, I 'didn't know about it. They are now saying its too late, water under the bridge was the comment. Its probably only £400, but every penny counts for me as I am trying to buy my first home.

Surely as my direct line manager is the same now as it was then something can be done?

Any advice would be great?

SarEl

I'm afraid there is no entitlement to an honorarium - it is discretionary. If the employer didn't approve it at the time, even if this was because it got lost in the "paperwork" somewhere, and didn't pay it, then there is no legal right to it. There may be a moral obligation, but that isn't worth much. Especially not in the face of public sector cuts. I think this may be the time to rest on your laurels - rocking the boat over a payment that you aren't legally entitled to may not be a good idea.

woody01

A bonus in almost all jobs is just that.
There is no entitlement.

SarEl

woody01 wrote: »

A bonus in almost all jobs is just that.
There is no entitlement.

I don't wish to appear argumentative, but that isn't the case. A bonus may be, and often is, contractually determined and therefore is an entitlement provided that any criteria for the scheme are met. So it may depend on acheiving certain sales figures or performance, or on company profits etc. An honorarium is different. It isn't a bonus at all, it is a discretionary payment, and in that case you would be right - it would rarely be contractual and therefore there is no entitlement.

MissAqua

Thanks for your help. I thought that would be the case. I may mention it to another senior manager who was the one who originally asked me to do the work and see what she says. In my mind whats the problem, they all know I did the work, but I won't hold my breath, local government afterall <sigh>
And this all came up because we were talking about motivation... geez....

SarEl

MissAqua wrote: »

I won't hold my breath, local government afterall <sigh>
And this all came up because we were talking about motivation... geez....

Not to demotivate you more, but they may genuinely not have the capacity to pay now. It may be "only £400"... But my local council are facing cuts of 25% in real terms over the next five years, and that's after already loosing a lot of jobs and services over the past year (before the new government came in) and already having frozen pay increases last year (not as a result of the new two year freeze - so that's at least three years in total for their staff). They are genuinely discussing the possibility of them going bankrupt! It's funny, the government said that no council would face cuts of more than 2%. But I have seen the maths, and I can't get it it to 2%....