Bonus Docked Unfairly

NeedSomHelp

I posted earlier about problems with my boss in the last few months and a disciplinary hearing happened where I got a verbal warning and believed the situation and issues were coming to an end.

However, unfortunately things have took a whole new shade of ugly this week where I had a bonus review and was docked several hundred quid by my boss purely out of spite.

Basically in work we have a "innovation" scheme where if we propose certain ideas that get implemented we get bonuses. Before my boss changed earlier in the year I pitched ideas to my old boss, who approved them and gave me permission to work on them (have it in writing) and he told me this would count towards my bonus and would be "Outstanding resource for the team and is brilliant and will help the company for a long time to come."

My new boss has now stated that the ideas are not required and are rejected because they are not innovative enough and therefore he cannot award me my bonus due to this which costs me several hundred pounds and a downgrade on some of my performance ratings which could effect my future promotion chances and my salary review which will come up later in the year since it is done based on these things. Essentially I score 0 in this area now because of this decision.

However since then ideas which are almost identical are being proposed by "friends of the boss" which are being approved and they are getting paid out for them and in recent weeks it has become apparent that much of the "innovation" in the team is coming from the bosses friends and nobody else and all of the recent improvements, innovations etc appear to be always lifted from rejected ideas of my own, and then someone else is taking credit for them and getting bonus whilst I am being ranked as failing in that area.

This has already caused one person to resign this week because some of these ideas I worked on them with, but they are too scared to speak up about it. Today another person in the team told me that they were going to resign because of the fact that they felt there was a clique in the team and that they were not appreciated by my boss since there is a culture of a select few people playing down peoples work and then using it as a basis to submit same things to management in their own name to take credit and/or financial gain.

So I approached the relevant manager about this and asked if we could discuss the issues and I would present to him proof of the above, to which he stated that the way it needs to work is that I need to send him a brief email detailing the problem and he will speak to my boss in confidence and then I need to show the proof in a meeting with both of them. He refused under any circumstance to meet with me to discuss the issue. He stated that he wants an outline of the complaint first and then he will speak to my boss and then he will speak to us both.

Unfortunately already my boss is suddenly changing tack in how he deals with this promotion since I approached the relevant manager and has had several subtle digs which indicates said manager has disclosed the email I sent to him (even though I marked it as confidential since I was effectively whistle blowing) I stated to the manager that I believed that I should have the right to present my case on a one to one basis in a meeting but he stated he was not willing to do that and the only meetings that will take place will be him and my boss and all three of us.

Essentially what I believe will happen is if I outline the accusation to this manager, he will disclose my mail to my boss, meet with him in private (whilst refusing to do the same with me), then it will allow my boss to "create" an excuse of "cook the books" or "Construct" something or destroy proof prior to any actual investigation. The fact he refuses to meet me suggests that any investigation won't be fair and will be prejudged.

Effectively there are several people in the team who are now on the verge of resigning because of my boss and things are going to come to a head pretty soon and the attitude from management (another person complained about being bullied by him) is basically one of complacency and they are not taking any complaints seriously. Again the person who complained about being bullied, was refused a meeting with HR to discuss issues and now is subject of an investigation of "Deliberately killing morale in the team and encouraging people to quit." which is ridiculous, nobody is stirring up bad feeling, a lot of people are just unhappy because of the boss. She told me that effectively HR seem to be implying that as a group, a large number of the team are bullying the boss and trying to create a "pressure group" against my boss and his friends in the team which is ridiculous.

Essentially since this boss took over 4 months ago we have seen out of a team of 13, 4 people leave, one resign, another one accuse him of bullying and then be accused of destroying morale, myself make an accusation of bullying and others on t he verge of resigning because of his leadership. This is despite the fact in the previous 9 months not a single person left. The big issue is senior management and HR are absolutely blind to any complaints or allegations from staff and are not even trying to fairly investigate them.

There is now talk of people setting up a union and one guy actually thinks that if the girl who also raised the alarm is fired, she might do well at a tribunal since they didn't even try to investigate her claims or let her outline her points about being bullied, it was almost dismissed straight away and they didn't take it seriously, she just told them a little information, asked them to meet with her, they refused, but sent a copy of her allegations to her boss who HR met privately and then HR and the boss then invited her to a meeting and turned the tables on her accusing her of being the troublemaker.

Personally I'm looking for a new job anyway (obviously they don't know that), but I'd quite like to stay here until I find one (I am on good pay and quite a specialist role and I don't want to have a gap in my CV), but I don't feel it's fair I should be financially losing out because of some corrupt boss who is trying to divert the monies to his friends.

What do people recommend my strategy should be? Personally I think forming a union in the company is long over-due, whilst I've never been a fan of unions, I can' imagine stuff like this would happen in a unionized workplace, but I'just wonder what you guys think I should do about the situation?

TBagpuss

Do you have a question?

SuzieSue

I think you should stop trying to fight your boss and put all your effort in to finding another job.

HR do not appear to be impartial and so there is no point trying to prove that your boss has been unfair. You have said yourself that he would cover his tracks so what is the point?

Just concentrate on getting another job and ignore your boss.

NeedSomHelp

I agree - but it is disappointing that they are completely blind to what is going on. I half expect them to bring me in shortly and accuse me of "Deliberately killing morale in the team and encouraging people to quit." when if they opened up their eyes and actually did a proper investigation they'd see the real reason.

I am checking job sites every day but what irks me is I had that bonus money earmarked for something and right at the last minute it's sprung on me that I will not be getting it, and it then takes the !!!! to hear that someone else is getting money for proposing the same things a day after it was rejected by me.

The guy who is talking about setting up a union basically reckons it's just all part of a tactic to manage people out, they're being deliberately awkward in the hope it will encourage people to leave, although in recent weeks the wheels have started to come off as the "Them" and "us" divide is starting to become wider and wider.

Essentially the team pretty much ran itself for a year with little or no hassle, I have access to staff performance data and there are some pretty strange trends I noticed over the last few months, if you could plot the strangeness of trends, the drop in morale and attrition, there would be a clear pattern that they are all linked.

SuzieSue

NeedSomHelp wrote: »

I agree - but it is disappointing that they are completely blind to what is going on. I half expect them to bring me in shortly and accuse me of "Deliberately killing morale in the team and encouraging people to quit." when if they opened up their eyes and actually did a proper investigation they'd see the real reason.

I am checking job sites every day but what irks me is I had that bonus money earmarked for something and right at the last minute it's sprung on me that I will not be getting it, and it then takes the !!!! to hear that someone else is getting money for proposing the same things a day after it was rejected by me.

The guy who is talking about setting up a union basically reckons it's just all part of a tactic to manage people out, they're being deliberately awkward in the hope it will encourage people to leave, although in recent weeks the wheels have started to come off as the "Them" and "us" divide is starting to become wider and wider.

Essentially the team pretty much ran itself for a year with little or no hassle, I have access to staff performance data and there are some pretty strange trends I noticed over the last few months, if you could plot the strangeness of trends, the drop in morale and attrition, there would be a clear pattern that they are all linked.

I have worked in offices for over 30 years and what is happening in your company isn't that unusual.

You have to try not to worry about the injustice and just look for another job.

Believe me, you will not win a fight like this.

w00519772

I agree with the others. Bonuses are usually at the discretion of your management. If you have had a disciplinary then perhaps that is why you have not received the bonus you wanted? I would just leave.

NeedSomHelp

We had clearly defined criteria for bonus.

I was stated that I lost a large percentage of my bonus because of the reasons I stated,

Verbal warning doesn't impact bonus

Bmth100

Welcome to life, unfortunately.

I gave notice during a bonus payment period and was told I wouldn't get it. A friend of the in-crowd in a lower role received it, though, whilst he was on notice at the exact same time.

Honestly, people are just generally !!!!!!. I hate people.

Savvy_Sue

There is no need to start a union. You (and others) just need to join an existing one. Look here.

It's not likely to help much with this issue, but may do in the future.

Malthusian

I am surprised that you are still ploughing on with this job and I am absolutely amazed that you thought you were going to get a bonus at a job where you have had a disciplinary and your boss doesn't like you - and even earmarked it for spending.

Izzy8484

I would just leave. Being in a specialist role should mean you can find something quickly? It is not worth the hassle.