Four out of 10 UK employees still expect to receive a bonus of some sort this year, at an average of £14,600, new research has revealed.
A survey conducted by Investec Private Bank found that despite the credit crunch, as many as 84,000 workers expect to receive a payout of £100,000 for the 2007-08 financial year, while 294,000 believe they are in line to receive between £50,000 and £100,000.
The number of people in employment has reached a record high of 29.5 million, according to a report by the UK’s Office for National Statistics. The statistics office also showed that UK average earnings excluding bonuses grew at its fastest annual three-month rate since November 2006 in February.
Men expect to receive larger bonuses than women, with an average of £19,500, against an £8,400 average expected by women, according to the survey.
And three in 10 respondents said they would use the cash to pay for a holiday, while 22% said they would save the money with the same percentage using their bonus to pay off unsecured debt.
