According to an analysis of employee bonuses awarded in the last 12 months, by Cendex, part of XpertHR, workers in Inner London received by far the highest average bonus of £8,236. The next highest paying region was a long way behind with workers in Northern Ireland seeing average bonuses of £3,266 – less than half the Inner London amount. Employees who work across multiple regions and classify themselves as “mobile” took home average bonuses of £4,806.
The research shows that 295,549 employees out of the more than 1 million contained in the Cendex database received a bonus in the last year, a 67% increase when compared to the previous 12 months. Of these, there was a 149% increase in the number of employees who received a bonus worth more than £25,000.
There is little surprise that the more senior an individual is, the more bonus they received, with chief executives receiving an average bonus of £172,897 and directors being awarded average bonuses of £49,973. At the opposite end of the spectrum, entry level professionals received bonuses averaging just £642 per year.
Overall, bonuses from workers in the north of England did not significantly lag those handed out in the South. Average bonuses for employees in the North and North East amounted to £3,133, the fourth highest of all regions. In contrast, employees in Scotland and Wales saw significantly lower average bonuses of approximately £1,500.
However, the bonus awarded to employees is not only varied by location. The largest companies surveyed did not always pay the highest bonus. If fact, Cendex data found that organisations with fewer than 250 employees awarded the highest average bonus of £6,050 compared with an average bonus of £2,726 for workers employed by the largest organisations with workforces of more than 1,000 staff.
Sheila Attwood, XpertHR pay and benefits editor, said, “From the rising cost of living to the expense of the Christmas season now underway, money is front of mind for many workers. An annual bonus is a well-received reward for many employees in recognition of the effort they have put in. But being paid the at the right level is just as important and it is crucial that businesses get this right, achieving the balance between making an employee feel valued while remaining competitive in the market.
“Bonuses and a strong overall reward strategy will continue to be a key focus as we move into the new year. The ever-tightening war for talent is ongoing and employers need to leverage data to create attractive and effective reward strategies that can recruit and retain top talent. Using reward metrics such as bonus and salary data by location, industry, and role can be critical to getting the right reward to the right person.”
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