Four out of 10 employees (37.8%) were paid a bonus in 2014. The value of bonuses paid, both in monetary terms and as a percentage of salary, varies widely, but there are a number of measures that can be examined to determine whether or not employees are likely to receive a bonus.
Here, we count down the factors that determine the likelihood of receiving a bonus.
4. Performance
In fourth place is performance, which is not as closely associated with bonus payment as one might expect.
While more than half (55.1%) of employees rated as “exceeding expectations” in their performance review received a bonus, just under half (48.1%) of those grading as having “met expectations” also received a bonus.
3. Organisation size
Next we see a pattern by organisation size. Employees in the largest organisations (those with 1,000 or more employees) are more likely than those in smaller firms to be paid a bonus. According to the research, 41.1% of employees in the largest organisations were paid a bonus, compared with 25.1% of those in the smallest firms.
2. Seniority
Performance is not as closely associated with bonus payment as one might expect”
Seniority is a key factor. The higher up the organisation, the more likely it is that you will receive a bonus – and it follows that as pay increases, so does the likelihood of getting a bonus. The research found that 58.1% of senior directors were paid a bonus last year, compared with 32.2% of entry-level employees.
1. Habit
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The most common way to predict whether or not you will receive a bonus is to look at whether you were paid one last year – 79.7% of employees who received a bonus in 2014 were also paid one in 2013.
The research is based on XpertHR Salary surveys data for 27,422 individuals who received a bonus in the year to 1 October 2014.
