The meaning of contract wording

C

cormacol

Registered User
Messages
111
Hi all,

I am considering changing jobs but am due a bonus shortly. The scenario is that i receive a letter announcing bonus at the end of February and the bonus is then paid in the MArch payroll.

My contract says that i have to be in employment to receive bonus - if i hand in my three months notice am i still in employment and hence is the bonus still receiveable.

Any opinions would be welcomed
 
As far as I know yes you are, as long as you are on the payrole, if you are due to receive a bonus you should get it.
 
If it were me, I would stay until the bonus was paid. In a previous employment, people lost out on a March bonus by leaving in January, and in another case, someone else lost out on a bonus once they handed in their notice, even though they had stayed past the payment date.

Most of the time a bonus would appear to be discretionary, certainly the amount.

There is/was a case ongoing where bonuses were deferred and then withheld when the employees left involving a large stockbroker (I'm not aware of the outcome).
 
I would prefer to wait until it is paid before i hand in my notice but my notice period is three months (unlikely to be reduced due to circumstances at work).

The job i'm interviewing for is one i really want - if it came to it i probably would sacrifice bonus to join but its a fair bit of money so want to work out my options.
 
You can always highlight the problem to the new employer and hint that they may want to 'buy out' your bonus if they need you to start before the bonus date. There used to be a legitimate 'hello money' scheme that allowed employers to pay tax-free signing bonuses to employees some years back - I'm not sure if this still exists.
 
Don't be afraid to have a quiet word with your HR department or payroll about your dilemma. They will be sympathetic and can advise you of whether your bonus will still be approved even if you are working your notice.
 
I left a job a couple of years back and I was due a bonus; never received it in the end; really didn't bother fighting it as it was not really in a contract, just verbal. It was not a great company to work for and the fact that I never received the bonus was confirmation that I was right to leave
 
Mugs Game,

The Davy case appears to have turned on the fact that the manner in which the bonus payment was made was altered by Davy's. I don;t think you can say that an employee can always expect to receive a bonus payment if they terminate their employment
 
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