A third of employers in Ireland don’t expect to pay end-of-year bonuses and a further 18pc are uncertain of their plans for the 2011/2012 bonus round, according to a survey.
The survey was conducted by Morgan McKinley with 584 senior-level operational and HR managers across Ireland about end-of-year bonuses.
More than half (53pc) of survey respondents expect to pay year-end bonuses, but the majority of these respondents (77pc) believe these will be quite modest, expecting the bonuses to amount to 1-10pc of base salaries.
Just 1pc of companies surveyed said they will pay a significant bonus of 26pc of the base salary.
Forty-nine per cent of IT companies and 44pc in the manufacturing industry said that they will pay 6-10pc of base salaries for the end-of-year bonus. Some 37pc of financial services and 35pc of professional services will pay 1-5pc of base salaries.
“The results of our recent Bonus Expectations Survey show that almost a third of financial services, IT, manufacturing and professional services firms in Ireland do not expect to pay year-end bonuses. This indicates that many Irish businesses are still highly cost-cautious heading into 2012, which is understandable against the backdrop of volatility in the eurozone and ongoing domestic economic challenges,” said Karen O’Flaherty, CEO, Morgan McKinley
“Despite this mood of austerity, just over half of employers are expecting to distribute modest bonuses in December or January. It must be emphasised that the majority of respondents predicted that these would be 10pc of basic salaries at best.
“For many companies, these bonus payments are likely to be gestures of goodwill towards their employees, many of whom would not have received pay increases or bonuses for three or more years.
“Even in this challenging economic climate, employers recognise there are still shortages of skilled professionals in certain sectors, so staff retention is a priority. Where salary increases are not feasible, some companies are rewarding staff with bonuses, increased benefits or work/life balance incentives,” she said.
