Men take home more than £2,000 more than women in bonuses, demonstrating a widening gender bonus gap.
According to Brightmine, men are almost 1.5 times more likely to receive a bonus than their female colleagues, and when they do, these bonuses are almost 1.8 times higher.
Across annual bonuses, there is a £2,190 gender gap, the company found. This gap widens with age – in their early 50s, men earn an average bonus of £8,693, while women receive £4,193.
Looking at payroll data from more than 1.1 employees across almost 1,000 employers, Brightmine found that 330 organisations offered a bonus, and 138,411 employees received them.
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Senior leaders unsurprisingly receive bonuses many multiples of anything received by “routine task providers”, Brightmine found.
Directors’ bonuses average £54,014, or around a third of salary, while roles such as cleaner or catering assistant received an average of £535, just 2% of salary.
Private sector employees received the biggest payouts, with an average bonus of £6,828.
However, these employers were more selective about providing bonuses, awarding them to around 10% of employees. Almost 40% of employees in manufacturing and production earned a bonus.
Sheila Attwood, HR insights and data lead at Brightmine, said: “While bonuses are becoming scarcer across the workforce, the real story is the gap between males and females receiving bonuses.
“This, alongside the news that the UK gender pay gap has been underestimated for the past 20 years, serves to highlight a continuing equity issue that organisations can no longer afford to ignore.
“If employers are serious about inclusivity, they need to face the gap head on and interrogate their reward practices to ensure transparency, fairness and consistency.”
Brightmine is calling on employers to audit their bonus practices and identify gender disparities, both in eligibility and value.
Employers should review reward strategies to ensure that bonuses reinforce fairness and retention, rather than heightening inequalities, it advises.
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