Lost my bonus

WeakPath

I had a disciplinary which ended in a verbal warning. At the time I asked if it would have any impact on my bonus or any pay rises and was told a verbal warning was basically a slap on the wrist and would not impact anything so I dropped it. Did not appeal it the time as thought nothing of it now i’m Being told my bonus is lost because that is on my record.

I feel lied to and that I have missed an opportunity to appeal it and been made jump through hoops for nothing. If there anything I can do apart from look for a new job??

Thanks in advance

Undervalued

WeakPath wrote: »

I had a disciplinary which ended in a verbal warning. At the time I asked if it would have any impact on my bonus or any pay rises and was told a verbal warning was basically a slap on the wrist and would not impact anything so I dropped it. Did not appeal it the time as thought nothing of it now i’m Being told my bonus is lost because that is on my record.

I feel lied to and that I have missed an opportunity to appeal it and been made jump through hoops for nothing. If there anything I can do apart from look for a new job??

Thanks in advance

Statistically internal appeals are very rarely upheld so is there any realistic likelihood yours would have been one of the few exceptions?

Secondly bonuses are almost always discretionary so there is generally little scope for challenging a refusal to pay.

So, all that you are left with is a vague verbal assurance (any witnesses?) that your bonus would not be affected.

With a disciplinary that has gone against you and a warning in place I would think long and hard before rocking the boat.

TBagpuss

How formal is the bonus structure? Is there anything in writing, such as in an employee handbook, which ses out how they are awared? f so, what does it say about the impact of disciplinary matters?

However, bonuses are almost always discretionary, so they can simply decide not to award one, and could do so whether or not you had been disciplined.

You could speak to your line manager and explain that you were told that the disciplinary would not affect your bonus, so are confused that it now is doing so, and ask if they can review and reconsider the decision in light of the assurances you were given. treat it as flagging up something you think they have overlooked, rather than claiming they lied to you.

However, I would think first - how has your performance been since the disciplinary? How long ago was is, and what praise or positive feedback have you had since?

Unless you have a contractual entitlement to a bonus (which would be unusual) you don't have any right to it and so it is a matter of goodwill. Do you feel you have built up 'capital' based on how you have performed and presented since the disciplinary?

As Undervalued says, just because you could have appealed doesn't mean that your appeal would have succeeded - unless thee was new information which wasn't brought up at the original disciplinary then it probably wouldn't have been, so it's likely that you haven't in fact lost out by not appealing.

TELLIT01

Although the disciplinary may be an element in you losing the bonus, it would probably be easy for the employer to show that your performance was not up to scratch in other areas if they needed to. As bonuses are usually discretionary I doubt you would get anywhere by complaining.

General_Grant

Undervalued wrote: »

Statistically internal appeals are very rarely upheld .

Genuine questions -
where do you get this statistic? - TU knowledge?
what is the measure for "very rarely"?

WeakPath

Yeah my note taker had his note taker were both present when I asked.

I had 17 pages added to the notes of the disciplinary about my investigation into the incident which cause the guy to adjourn the meeting for over an hour. If I was in the wrong I would have held my hands up. But it was nonsense.

WeakPath

My performance was good enough to earn bonus haha.

Jumped through hoops to earn it when I could have easily relaxed and cruised through in my sales figures which I would have done had I not been lied too

[Deleted User]

If it’s not contractually obligated you have no right to it.

CakeCrusader

Check your contract. Mine's really clear, it's discretionary and it's not given if the employee is undergoing a disciplinary.

ohreally

Undervalued wrote: »

Statistically internal appeals are very rarely upheld

When I was a steward I had an almost 100% success record at appeal record(as did most other stewards).

I too would be interested in your assertion.

jonnygee2

I had a disciplinary which ended in a verbal warning. At the time I asked if it would have any impact on my bonus or any pay rises and was told a verbal warning was basically a slap on the wrist and would not impact anything so I dropped it. Did not appeal it the time as thought nothing of it now i’m Being told my bonus is lost because that is on my record.

I feel that some of the things you've been told are wrong, for example that because a contract says a bonus is 'discresionary', that gives employers carte blanche to withdraw it as they please. This isn't accurate - rules about acting fairly and reasonably still apply. 'Discretion' must still be made with reasonable grounds.

Still, being given a warning sounds like something that would be considered a reasonable reason for not paying a bonus (or at least more reasonable than if your employer just withdrew it randomly).

One key issue is you were told it wouldn't affect your bonus, when it did. Do you have any record of this? Who told you it and it what context?