Boardroom bonuses remain attainable
BRITISH board members are still receiving bonuses worth a third of their salaries, despite the general trend for pay to be frozen.
According to the latest Executive Compensation Review survey by employment research firm Incomes Data Services, the amount board directors receive in bonuses fell by 25 per cent on 2008 when they could expect to receive 40 per cent of their salaries in discretionary rewards.
Senior managers saw the sharpest cut in bonuses, which fell by 35 per cent from 20 per cent of their salary to 13 per cent. Professional and technical staff saw their bonuses trimmed 31.3 per cent from eight per cent to 5.5 per cent of salary. Junior and middle management bonuses decreased by 22 per cent from 10 per cent to 7.8 per cent of salary.
Executive Compensation Review editor Steve Tatton said: “Despite the current climate of salary freezes these figures show that bonuses remain very much an integral part of current pay packages. Employers continue to view performance-related pay as a valuable reward tool.”
Bonuses are generally based on past performance so the figures for the year to April 2009 reflect company and individual performances before the credit crunch hit the wider economy.