WFH Bonus being withheld

PumaUK7

Looking for some guidance please.

My work are requesting staff back to the office on a hybrid 3 days per week basis. Many employees are not doing the 3 days currently. A few others have managed to get flexible working arrangements agreed where they are effectively classed as remote workers (though most of these happened before the 3 days return was officially communicated at the beginning of Sept).

I have been largely attending the office 2 days per week and had been verbally advised a couple of times that this would start to be monitored and that the expectation was 3 days. To this end I officially put in a request for flexible working just prior to the 1st Sept 3 day communication coming round on email.

Concurrently all managers were asked to verify on the HR system that we have held meetings with our direct reports and explained to them the expectation that 3 days per week is now required and the only exception can be where a flexible working agreement is accepted.  These meetings/verification needed to be completed by the 1st Sept. Due to my workload / discussions around my own flexible working request / holiday within my team, I did not tick the boxes to verify that I had completed these discussions with my team until the 6th sept. When chased by HR on the 5th no mention was made of any penalty for not completing, it was simply a request to do so ASAP as it was overdue.

Earlier in the year I was promised a retention bonus (in addition my my standard annual bonus due next March), to be paid in Sept.  The contracted terms detailed that this was subject to my performance continuing to meet expectations and that no conduct / performance concerns have been identified.

Today (15th) without warning, I have been called into a meeting to be advised that my bonus will not be paid this month (due the 25th) as I had not completed these verifications for my team nor was attending the required 3 days per week. My flexible working would be considered separately still but the expectation of 3 days in the meantime is what was under scrutiny.

I queried if this was an issue with my performance or if it was an HR matter but have been advised that it is purely that I am required to lead by example as a senior manager and that I did not complete my staff’s verifications in time, so the CFO could not approve my bonus payment this month.

I am assuming that my bonus will be paid, provided I attend the office the 3 days (until a decision is made on flexible working), however this abrupt delay in my payment without warning and in what seems like unfair circumstances (I was not warned by HR, nor have they been involved in communicating this to me) AND others who are also receiving bonus payments and freely admit are also not doing the 3 days (however are not managers), have not been penalised in this way.

I’m going to have to email asking for clarity on what has happened today as was all a blur (and all done verbally without any written follow up), but right now I’m simply wondering if this is acceptable for them to even do here?

Any advice will be greatly welcomed.

Thanks

BrassicWoman

Bonuses are usually discretionary, and it's fair for senior managers to lead by example - and know they should without being told. Seems ok to me.

Savvy_Sue

Also I would not assume that if you start going in 3 days pw the bonus will be paid later: you also failed to get the assessments in at the right time. 

JReacher1

You’re not doing the three days in the office you’re meant to and you also didn’t complete the verification process until six days after the deadline. 

You state the bonus was dependent on your performance being at a satisfactory level. Based on what you have said   It doesn’t appear that it has been at a satisfactory level so not a major surprise they’ve not paid you the bonus. 

Undervalued

PumaUK7 said:

Earlier in the year I was promised a retention bonus (in addition my my standard annual bonus due next March), to be paid in Sept.  The contracted terms detailed that this was subject to my performance continuing to meet expectations and that no conduct / performance concerns have been identified.

Today (15th) without warning, I have been called into a meeting to be advised that my bonus will not be paid this month (due the 25th) as I had not completed these verifications for my team nor was attending the required 3 days per week. My flexible working would be considered separately still but the expectation of 3 days in the meantime is what was under scrutiny.

I queried if this was an issue with my performance or if it was an HR matter but have been advised that it is purely that I am required to lead by example as a senior manager and that I did not complete my staff’s verifications in time, so the CFO could not approve my bonus payment this month.

I am assuming that my bonus will be paid, provided I attend the office the 3 days (until a decision is made on flexible working), however this abrupt delay in my payment without warning and in what seems like unfair circumstances (I was not warned by HR, nor have they been involved in communicating this to me) AND others who are also receiving bonus payments and freely admit are also not doing the 3 days (however are not managers), have not been penalised in this way.

I’m going to have to email asking for clarity on what has happened today as was all a blur (and all done verbally without any written follow up), but right now I’m simply wondering if this is acceptable for them to even do here?

Any advice will be greatly welcomed.

Thanks

It all depends on what you (and they) mean by "promised". You mention some conditions that are attached to this "promise" such as "performance continuing to meet expectations and that no conduct / performance concerns have been identified".

As other have said, bonusses are normally discretionary. Arguably if they are not, unless tied to very defined criteria, they are not really a bonus at all but part of a salary package!

Legally discretion is very wide unless so far off the mark as to be "perverse".

They will argue that they have some performance concerns and are exercising their discretion. Very, very difficult to successfully challenge.

Exodi

PumaUK7 said:

I’m going to have to email asking for clarity on what has happened today as was all a blur (and all done verbally without any written follow up)

Let's not play dumb on this - you're emailing asking for clarity because you want it all in writing so you can refer to it as you construct your challenge.

Bonuses are usually discretionary (I'm sure you know this as a senior manager), they've given you reasons why they are not paying it. You also seem to suggest it's a monthly bonus as opposed to an annual bonus?

Also despite being a senior manager, you're riding the WFH bandwagon in polar opposition to the companys position. To be honest, if my senior managers were actively acting against company policy, I would (putting it lightly) be quite frustrated also (as they say, you lead by example, and employees will generally think 'if my managers not doing it, why should I?').

How long have you been working there?