Question: We have had a bumper year this year and we want to give our employees £500 as a Christmas bonus ?, but we don’t have to do this every year, do we?
Answer: It depends ………..! First of all congratulations that your business has done so well this year, and on your decision to reward your staff with a Christmas bonus. We are sure they will be very pleased!
However, if this is the first year you have rewarded your staff with a bonus you will not be required to replicate again next year, unless you want to. If however, you have made similar payments at Christmas in the past it may well now be an “implied” contractual entitlement.
What does this mean for you? It means that you will have to continue to give the benefit year on year if you have done so in the past. If you wish this year’s bonus to be a one off event then you need to say so to ensure that in future years you are not making it a contractual entitlement.
Happy Christmas to all our clients and readers ?