Bonus Repayment Advice

Moonkat1992

Hi - I'm looking for some advice about a bonus I was paid by my employer for achieving membership of a chartered institute. When interviewing for the position I was told I would receive this bonus as a reward for gaining this membership but at the time I wasn't told I would have to wait a long time for it or that it is supposed to be re-paid plus tax if you leave the company within two years. It wasn't included in my contract either. After gaining my membership it took 7 months to receive the bonus payment and I was only told that there was a 'two year tie in' associated with it, I wasn't given further details and I didn't sign anything. When I agreed to receive it 11 months ago I did expect to be staying with the company for two years but am now looking to change jobs for a variety of reasons.
My question is, can they really make me pay back the bonus plus tax even though I didn't sign anything? And should the two year tie in be from the date I gained my membership, the date I agreed to receive the bonus or the date when the bonus was paid?

AskAsk

so there is absolutely no paper trail that explains how this bonus works?  did you receive any correspondence to state that you had indeed been given a bonus?

how much is the bonus?

Moonkat1992

Thanks for your reply, the only 'paper trail' I have ever seen is a document that explains how much is given depending on which type of professional membership has been achieved, this covered a variety of professional memberships/charterships within my profession. I received email correspondence to confirm that the bonus would be paid with the following month's pay.
The bonus was £3000 paid with my usual salary, although it was more like £1800 after tax, NI and student loan were deducted.

AskAsk

so have you left the company now or are you in your notice period?

how much have they asked for?  the full £3,000?

Moonkat1992

I've not started the process of leaving yet, I want to start applying for new jobs but I want to know whether I'm likely to have to repay the bonus first so I can prepare for it financially.

AskAsk

userdloat said:

I've not started the process of leaving yet, I want to start applying for new jobs but I want to know whether I'm likely to have to repay the bonus first so I can prepare for it financially.

so how have you found out about this refund if you leave before 2 years?  who told you?

Moonkat1992

I was told in an email by HR that there was a two year tie in when I agreed to receive it, but it was never elaborated on and was told by several colleagues that it needs to be paid back plus tax if you leave within the two years which is (I'm assuming) what HR meant by a two year tie in. I acknowledged it but I never signed any paper work.

KatrinaWaves

You don’t need to sign paperwork for it to be binding. You were told of the tie in before receiving the bonus.  I fail to see what else a two year tie in could mean, they cannot prevent anyone from leaving so it’s not as if it meant that, and you acknowledged the email. 

AskAsk

userdloat said:

I was told in an email by HR that there was a two year tie in when I agreed to receive it, but it was never elaborated on and was told by several colleagues that it needs to be paid back plus tax if you leave within the two years which is (I'm assuming) what HR meant by a two year tie in. I acknowledged it but I never signed any paper work.

as already said by the other reply, email corerspondence is sufficient evidence of acceptance.  in this day of digital communication, emails are accepted as formal agreement.  you will therefore be required to pay the bonus back in accordance with their terms and conditions.  so factor this into your decision to leave.

Moonkat1992

Okay thanks for your help. Question still remains about when the two year tie in began, I hope it's not from when it was paid considering it took 7 months to come through... I haven't got a spare 3k lying around at the moment so looks like I'm stuck

KatrinaWaves

When was it ‘awarded’?