Are you expecting a bonus?

[Tasha+Scott]

I get a $300 holiday bonus right before Christmas each year. I love it because it helps with my Christmas shopping! It is the ONLY job I've ever received a bonus for at all though. Dh usually gets a ham or a turkey right before Christmas but that's it...but still better than nothing!

 

[lecach]

I dont expect a bonus. My boss is very volatile and is more likely to just fire me than to give a bonus. She's already taking away some of the bonus I was supposed to get for each closing (we're in real estate). Now she's making it that the closings have to be on time. Do you know how many closings ARENT on time? At least half.

 

[SunFloridaDisney]

The company is trying to stay afloat in this economy so I totally get it. I'm just glad to be getting a paycheck and not severance pay...

Same here!

 

[Minnie]

Yes we will receive it during the month of Dec.

 

[deegack]

That's too bad. If they give you something only when they know you want to leave they are not paying what you are worth. There should have been raises. I accepted a promotion outside the department I worked in once and the department offered me an increase better than the pay increase associated with the promotion. I turned it down and in the future did better in that I got raises in recognition for my work.

He got a raise also but he was the highest paid at his level and they couldn't go higher or he would be paid more then people at the next level. Unfortunately his company is not the best with rewarding employees. They would rather high from outside and pay them more. But with the economy he's staying there for the time being because they would never get rid of him, he makes them too much money.

 

[Squirlz]

I work for my wife. I get a daily bonus.

 

[java]

At my last job I got a yearly bonus. As well as a Holiday "gift" which was usually pretty lame. Fruit of the month kind of gift. But that bonus Ah the good old days of 90's Wall Street.

 

[Buckalew11]

Nope, neither of us receive a Christmas bonus.

 

[mrodgers]

Each year I get a $10 gift card to the local grocery store. Lets see .... that means my year end bonus is an extra 17 minutes of pay. wooohooo.

At least it's usable. I give my "bonus" away because I don't have the additional money above the $20 restaurant gift card to take my family out to eat.

I don't consider profit sharing to be a bonus in the context of this thread. We are getting a profit sharing check this year, the first since 1998. Coincidentally, both in 1998 and this year 2 things happened. It was announced that we are getting a nice profit sharing check and both years there was heavy unionization talk in the plant. Funny how it works out that way....

 

[Handbag Lady]

Nope, no bonus here. Ever.

I used to get a free turkey from Knott's Berry Farm when I worked there, though.


Funny bonus story: It was the start of a new job and it was right at Christmastime. My boss asked me to hand out the Christmas Bonus checks as a way to introduce me to all of the staff members. It was fun, though, meeting people by giving them a giant gob of cash. Some of them were really huge bonuses so I was really, REALLY popular. I certainly didn't expect a bonus and didn't get one. However, I did think ahead to next Christmas, and decided to dedicate myself in order to earn a bonus.

That next Christmas they ended the bonus! Figures.

 

[NHdisneylover]

My husband gets an extra big paycheck on December 1, but it isn't really a bonus. His company has a policy for salaried employees that they divide everyone's salary by 13. They pay one a month (on the first) and on December 1 you get 2/13 pay instead of the normal 1/13. It is nice--kind of forced savings for the end of the year. We don't see much of it as we have them take most of that for our retirement (the German version of a 401K), but we still end up with a bot to put towards the holidays.

He gets an actual performance bonus in March. It depends on how the division did with meeting goals and targets the prior year as well as how he did personally. This year the division as a whole did not do too well--but he alone made about 60% of the income (9 employees) so I have no idea how that will work out. We never count on the bonus for anything. If it comes in we generally spend it on a vacation (or two if it is really good).

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Our bonus season is in the spring. We have a couple of bonus programs. One is based on our total stock market return (price increase and dividends) compared with our peer companies. The other is based on a combination of how the company does against its key goals (safety, capital spending, etc) and then gets adjusted further based on individual performance. It is also possible for employees at some levels to earn restricted stock grants and stock options.

The purpose of the bonus program is to keep a significant portion of our pay "at risk." It emphasizes that we can't just sit on our laurels and expect to be paid well. You have to put up a good performance every year if you want good pay. I like the system and how it aligns employees incentives with the company's goals.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Nope. No bonuses since 2001, no pay raises since 2005 and a pay cut in 2009. My bonus is that I have a job.

 

[ReneeA]

Coincidentally, both in 1998 and this year 2 things happened. It was announced that we are getting a nice profit sharing check and both years there was heavy unionization talk in the plant. Funny how it works out that way....

Ha! That's the reason we think we're getting bonuses this year, too. I'm a RN and the Teamsters papered the hospital this summer and organized meet and greets to try and get into the hospital. Amazingly, it was announced less than a month later that we were not only getting bonuses bus also getting the first raises in over 3 years!!

So yeah. Bonus this year, probably not next.

Shocked, I tell you!!!

 

[tiggger1]

Where my husband works, part of the year end/holiday bonus is actually calculated into his salary, so he is guaranteed a certain amount. It is a % of his yearly salary plus an additional amount based on his performance. He received a amazing performance revue so he should get the maximum about bonus. He works for a financial company in the IT department so he bonus should be in the $20,000+ range before taxes..

 

[marcyinPA]

When DH first started with this company, they gave bonuses. Small ones. DH started in October and got $25 his first year. I'm assuming it was small because he had only been there a few months.

The company has been through a lot in the past two years, with downsizing and lay-offs. DH has been laid off, rehired, and downsized in his job title and salary this year.

We are not expecting a bonus. We are just hoping that he still has a job next year!!

ETA: I teach preschool, and while I don't get a bonus, I DO get some lovely gifts from the families of the children I teach. It isn't uncommon for me to get hundreds of dollars in gift cards at Christmas. Of course, you never know from year to year what families will give you, but the point is that it is nice to be appreciated, and it is sort of a bonus above and beyond my paycheck!

 

[marcyinPA]

Nope. No bonuses since 2001, no pay raises since 2005 and a pay cut in 2009. My bonus is that I have a job.

I hear ya!

 

[bettymae1121]

At my company we get one most years, though the amount varries. It's usually at least $500 or so and can be as much as a month's pay. Last year they did not give one due to the economy (since the company avoided layoffs none of us minded much) but this year it's back and we're getting the top amount. I should have the check by the end of the week. The bonus is based on how much under budget our company comes in at (if any) at the end of our fiscal year in June. By August they know if we reached the trigger point for the bonus and they'll send an email out saying if we got it or not, and if so, about how much it will be, and the date we'll get the check (usually it's the 1st friday in December). Makes it a lot easier to plan holiday spending that way!

DH get's a quarterly bonus depending on how his crew does. They usually get it, it ranges from $500 to $1000 per quarter. We usually find out if he got it or not a day or two after the quarter ends and it's included in his paycheck the following month. They did not cut out the bonus even though the company is in bankruptcy reorganization...go figure!

Someone asked if a bonus should be expected or not. While I don't think a bonus should ever be relied upon, I do think if a company has given out a bonus every year, year after year, for a very long time and then needs to stop for some reason, the company should tell their employees as soon as possible, so people don't "spend" the money before they get it, either by charging things or just putting it in their budget. No it's not wise to spend money before it's in hand, but when you get it year after year like that, it DOES become easy to do so. My company told us in Aug. '09 that we would not get a bonus in Dec. '09 and that we'd have an unpaid furlough the week between Christmas and New Years (at least we had the week off, that was nice). We had enough time to not only plan on not having the bonus, but not having that week's worth of income either. That makes a HUGE difference!

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I never "expect" any bonus, but I have received one every year I've been with my company. We usually get a bonus, a raise, and a piece of the "profit share" at the end of the year.

I like the profit share because once you are 100% vested you receive that money whether you quit, get fired, or retired. It's nice to know that sometime in the future I get to take a nice chunk of money with me should I leave the company. If I had it in my pocket, I'd probably spend it.