Annual Bonus & Resigning.

shanghaitim

Hi.
I have just handed in my notice at work, the job was just getting me down.
In January my line manager agreed that my 2018 bonus was 75% of one months wage, as of yet this has not been paid.
When I handed in my notice he said that I will not be getting this now.
Surely the bonus relates to last year, therefore should be paid.
Also we get a profit share, again, not been paid for 2018, should I still get this.
Prior to my notice being handed in I had 2 weeks off sick, for them 2 weeks I got SSP, my pay packet is now 600 pounds short, and I will struggle to pay rent and bills, can I get Universal Credit.
My notice period ends 12 April, so I should get 1 more pay slip, as we get paid on or around 16th of each month.

Ozzuk

Is the bonus discretionary? If so, very common that you give up any right to bonus when resigning, so often better to plan for this.

ReadingTim

Depends on what your contract and/or the rules of the bonus scheme say.

However, as noted above, it's extremely common for employees to forfeit the right to any bonus if they resign at any point before it's paid - companies use bonus schemes as a staff retention tool don't forget. Ditto profit share - it's to reward loyalty as well as work in the year.

TELLIT01

You should have checked the situation before handing in your notice. Anywhere I have worked, you have to be in employment with the company on the date the bonus will be paid. That is generally not the same as the period for which the bonus is paid.
For example, bonus is calculated based on the tax year (April to March) but bonus is actually paid in June/July pay. If you aren't there in June/July you have no entitlement.
From what your manager has said you won't be entitled to either your own performance bonus or the company profit share.

Exodi

Check your contract regarding the bonus terms but nigh on all bonuses are at the employers discretion, ie they have no legal obligation to provide one at all. You'd have trouble finding an employer that will give £XXXX to someone that's leaving out of goodwill.

If your manager has said you will not be getting your bonus then it seems pretty set in stone that you will not be getting your bonus.

It leads to a callous system where employers cheat staff out of 'earned' bonuses whenever they can and employees shamelessly hand notices in the day after receiving bonuses.

TELLIT01

One place I worked used to try to organise rounds of redundancy so that the last day of employment was the day before the entitlement to annual bonus would kick in. That was in the public sector.

TBagpuss

Most bonuses are discretionary so the employer is not bound to pay them. Bonuses typically reward performance and act as a retention incentive.

If someone leaves, then the employer may well see a dip in income, as there is often a delay between one person leavingand their replacement starting, and then the new person getting up to speed and starting to bring in money. They may also have finacial costs such as agency fees.
So from their perspective, they may feel that there is no benefit in paying the bonus to you and that it goes sme way to offset the costs of you leaving!

(Where I work, the bonus isn't contractual but we do have clear guidelines abouthow it is worked out and when it is paid, and the situations where it would not be paid. Someone who was employed on the date the bonus was due would get it even if they had handed their notice in, but not if they had actually left before that date.)