Made redundant and getting shafted on yearly bonus
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Pmcgowan89
Posts: 1 Newbie
Would love some advice on this please, as not been too happy with legal advice I have received and can't afford more hours with the solicitor.
I and most of my team are taking voluntary redundancy rather than relocate when our department moves to a new city in 2020.
We found out in January of this year this would happen and were told if we wanted the redundancy package we would needed to stay to a preliminary exit date of October. Many of us were then then asked if we’d stay on until end of December. That wasn't a huge issue and the package was good.
The reps we had did a fair job in negotiating package but the sticking point was the bonus for 2019. We have received quite generous discretionary bonuses each year based on a personal score and a company score. Originally the company said leavers wouldn’t be entitled to a bonus for 2019. They relented in the end and said we would – but never told us how this bonus would be calculated.
Many people left in October and so got a 10-month bonus which was apparently satisfactory. My bonus is only 76% of my average for every full year I have done here, and some of my colleagues are only around 65%.
This is quite a chunk to ‘lose’. The company is flatly refusing to reveal how they are calculating them, only giving us a generic ‘everyone has been given a flat grade’. In a normal year, the bonus would be announced to us the following Feb and paid in March, which was one of the reasons the company didn’t want to give them.
Now, I understand that, firstly, we’re lucky to get a good bonus anyway, and secondly, it’s a ‘discretionary bonus’, but have I got anything to argue with here?
Surely an average of each full year we have worked here is a fair way of doing this? Particularly now with the company share price higher than it’s been in years, and everyone having to stay nearly a year in a job that we knew we were leaving. We are now being pressurized to sign the settlement agreements with no progress being made on this issue.
I appreciate the thoughts of anyone who has been through something similar.
I and most of my team are taking voluntary redundancy rather than relocate when our department moves to a new city in 2020.
We found out in January of this year this would happen and were told if we wanted the redundancy package we would needed to stay to a preliminary exit date of October. Many of us were then then asked if we’d stay on until end of December. That wasn't a huge issue and the package was good.
The reps we had did a fair job in negotiating package but the sticking point was the bonus for 2019. We have received quite generous discretionary bonuses each year based on a personal score and a company score. Originally the company said leavers wouldn’t be entitled to a bonus for 2019. They relented in the end and said we would – but never told us how this bonus would be calculated.
Many people left in October and so got a 10-month bonus which was apparently satisfactory. My bonus is only 76% of my average for every full year I have done here, and some of my colleagues are only around 65%.
This is quite a chunk to ‘lose’. The company is flatly refusing to reveal how they are calculating them, only giving us a generic ‘everyone has been given a flat grade’. In a normal year, the bonus would be announced to us the following Feb and paid in March, which was one of the reasons the company didn’t want to give them.
Now, I understand that, firstly, we’re lucky to get a good bonus anyway, and secondly, it’s a ‘discretionary bonus’, but have I got anything to argue with here?
Surely an average of each full year we have worked here is a fair way of doing this? Particularly now with the company share price higher than it’s been in years, and everyone having to stay nearly a year in a job that we knew we were leaving. We are now being pressurized to sign the settlement agreements with no progress being made on this issue.
I appreciate the thoughts of anyone who has been through something similar.
0
Comments
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Don't sign till the package is what you want.
VR is just an agreement you will leave when you have terms both sides accept
The fall back is turn down the current offers and go through the process again first assessing if the jobs at the new location would be suitable alternatives or you are redundant.0 -
getmore4less wrote: »Don't sign till the package is what you want.
VR is just an agreement you will leave when you have terms both sides accept
The fall back is turn down the current offers and go through the process again first assessing if the jobs at the new location would be suitable alternatives or you are redundant.
Wouldn't the OP then run the risk of the company saying OK voluntary redundancy is off the table so everyone's moving to the new city ?0 -
gettingtheresometime wrote: »Wouldn't the OP then run the risk of the company saying OK voluntary redundancy is off the table so everyone's moving to the new city ?
If it is a suitable alternative.
they could have done that from the start and just have people resign.
Chances are they may have allready planned/replaced those that are leaving.
Saying you will relocate may be a way to up the offer.
Negotiating is knowing what cards you hold to get what you want.
They dropped the ball early on by not getting the details of the package on offer clear especially getting the bonus contractual and not discretionary.0
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