No. I’m a librarian, and we get merit raises if the funding is approved by county council (has been every year so far that I’ve worked here) and longevity pay if you’ve been here more than 5 years.
I received a bonus when I accepted the offer from my current employer.
I received a bonus for the bonus I left at my previous employer.
I get annual Incentive Compensation (bonus) based on both the company’s performance and on my department’s performance. It’s set at 25% of my base pay.
They also just gave me a bonus for changing my vacation plans due to work.
I’m in banking operations.
In the financial industry here in NYC, bonuses have always been a big part of the compensation, even for someone in a technical capacity. 20% is traditionally the minimum expected; less than that and either you personally, or the firm as a whole had a bad year.
Of course, 50 hour weeks are a minimum as well, often much more than that.
In what way is that not a bonus?
I’m sure our sales department gets bonuses, but I’m ignorant of the process and wish to remain that way. MYOB and all.
That said, we get traveler’s checks for Christmas bonuses, so no tax. Last year they doubled the normal amount (at least for me) and the boss gave everyone in the department a traveler’s check as well. It’s not much, but it’s a nice gesture and I appreciate it.
I have never in my life worked anywhere where bonuses were offered.
One place I worked, I started in early January. Up until that time, they’d been giving a bonus equal to one full month’s pay. Starting the first Christmas I worked there? Nothin’.
Since the onset of “variable compensation”, most of the companies I have worked for have not paid bonus money according to any published formula. While the senior executives have managed to rake in multi-million dollar bonuses, it is often reported to the lower rank & file that the profits were down, wall street did not like our numbers, <insert excuse for not paying here>. The company I work for now, while it does not have any published formula, actually pays close to what the target amounts are each quarter. I still never count on bonus money in my financial projections since I have been burned so many times along the way. However, I have to say that I am well cared for these days.
My company gives out a series of bonuses every year that adds up to 15% of our salary. We also get discretionary and completion bonuses, but those aren’t as reliable.
There are a lot of sports cars in the company parking lot.
The parents of my kids circumvent that dilemma by buying me wine.
Other than that, and chocolates (I’d rather the wine, thanks 
), and hand-made cards, nada. Although I do automatically bump up the pay scale each September, which means an extra £50/$100 or so per month. And I don’t intend to be here long enough to hit the ceiling of that system!
We can get a “spot” bonus which is a $100 Gift Card (visa).
We can get atta boy bonuses which run to about $500.
My annual bonus (I guess just for sticking around) is from $8K to 15K (last year).
I work for a HUGE faceless cooporation BTW as an engineer.
I get no bonus. None. I’m also in a position to know who gets paid that ‘secret second check under the table’ on both a monthly and a weekly basis. I’m too ethical to make use of it, however.
We used to get quarterly boni based on different criteria - overall store sales one quarter, 100% on safety inspections the next, etc. Nice amounts - $1000 for the manager, $500 for me, the assistant.
They stopped that, due to low profits. Now I get a shit-ass $25.00 Target gift card at X-mas. Better than nothing (which is what they are required to give as a bonus - nothing), but not by much.
Joe
My students shower me with Tim Hortons gift certificates at Christmas…
Yes. Each year we get a percentage of our salary package, related to our performance rating for the year.
In 18 years at a biotech company I have gotten bonuses irregularly, maybe 6 years total.
Now that I have arrived at a fairly high level in the company they come more regularly, two in the past two years, and have been quite welcome.
The change comes from the whole question of taxation of options that was a big deal a while ago. We switched to actual stock also.
To some degree our bonuses depend on performance (poor performance, no bonus) but mostly they depend on progress against a complicated set of goals. They are paid quarterly. Last quarter we stank up the place, but did okay on some categories, so we got something. It probably averages out to a month of pay over the years.
But don’t you all get too thrilled about bonuses. They started sometime around 20 years ago in high tech during a downturn. A bonus system allows a company to cut bonuses and thus reduce payroll without laying anyone off. That is good, but remember that salary increases compound, and bonuses do not. Given an $X raise and a $X bonus, take the raise every time. Though these days we’re lucky to get either.
I’ve been with the same company for almost 8 years now and I’ve received a bonus every year, although it has varied based on the company’s performance. Usually anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 weeks pay.
And I’ve received a few for special projects, increased work load for whatever reason, etc. Those have also varied but have ranged from 2-6 weeks pay. Just received one of those a month ago or so. A very nice surprise.
We get a “Team Award”. The payout is based upon a bunch of arcane (and changeable) metrics that don’t have anything to do with my particular job. I can only hope that people in other departments have a good year.
My job is odd and rather stressful with its bonus structure. I can’t complain because I am happy with the compensation, but a bonus is given once a year on carefully constructed ‘scorecards’ that measure your productivity. You are then ranked from one (verge of gettting fired) to five (top 5%). The bonus is from $0 for the ones and twos to 100% of salary for fives. Needless to say where you fit on that spectrum has a lot to do with how you feel about the position.
Advertising with a small, very specialized creative firm. Generally the big 3 agencies in Japan all fight over the main client accounts, then all three come to us for the particular aspect we specialize in.
Corporate profits here are taxed at a higher rate than salaries, and our boss figures that we know what to do with money better than the government does, so every November, just before the end of the tax period, just about all the profits are spent on company trips to tropical resorts and given out as bonuses. The bonuses are calculated based on seniority and performance and handed out as envelopes (or bags, in some cases) of cash. My first year (after joining in June), it was one months’ salary. Last year, it was 10.
Definitely makes the long hours worthwhile.