Jumping Ship Weeks Before Annual Bonus

bugzy3188

Hey all, I recently landed a new gig and have officially resigned from my position at my current job. My new job is a NOC position and is about a 28% pay increase. Unfortunately the timing is poor, it's not going to change my decision but I am leaving just shy of my bonus, I already had my review (prior to giving notice) and was told that it should be a fairly decent bonus this year. Now I realize that it is ultimately up to the company on whether they give bonuses after someone has left, but I am wondering what other's experiences are with this? Is it typical for a company to make good on bonuses even if you leave?

TacoRocket

I'm pretty sure you forfeit the bonus on resignation most times.

scaredoftests

I have never heard of a company that gives a person a bonus once they have left the company..

gncsmith

Yeah, this. In fact, my wife works for a bank and if you give notice in any way prior to the "Hug day" (what they call bonus day since the CEO, CIO, etc. personally hand out the bonus stubs and give hug to thank everyone) you forfeit. They also split the bonus in half if over a certain level giving half the first week of December and the other the first week of Feb. This ensures no one leaves during the busiest time of year.

dustervoice

Sorry thats really bad timing but i always look at bonus as a one time payment that i will most likely end up using before the end of the week.. what matters most is your salary not a one off payment and since you are getting a %28 pay increase i wouldn't worry too much about the bonus. In the short term it hurts but long run you will be better off.

the_Grinch

Yeah you'll lose the bonus. Definitely sucks, but if you are thinking long term then there isn't an issue. I worked for two companies where there were bonuses. One broke it into two payments, thus half in December and then at some point you would get the other half. I left and never got the other half, but again I was better off in the long run.

The second company has a policy that you need to be in your seat on June 30th (or at least the last day of June that was a work day) in order to receive the bonus. Thus if your last day was July 1st, you were good and you got the bonus. Where as if you left on the June 29th, you didn't get the bonus.

I'm of the mind that it is better to not get the bonus anyhow. When I left my last job an executive got on the elevator with me. We did the normal elevator chit chat when she said, "I heard you are leaving" to which I said "yup August 9th is my last day." Her reply was, "oh see you stayed long enough to get the bonus." She said it in a way to admonish me and I didn't appreciate it. What she didn't know is that if not for having to get through a background check I would have left as soon as the offer came in.

coffeeluvr

Yeah, from my experience you will forfeit the bonus.

Chev Chellios

I forfeited my bonus in a similar situation a few years back but it didn't really matter as I wanted to get out of that place. It's frustrating when you've already put the work in but focus on the new role! Congrats on the new gig by the way!

bugzy3188

Boo...oh well, on to bigger and better things! Thanks for the input!

Chev Chellios

You never know, you might get some of the bonus you were entitled to- I have heard of that happening. However, I guess it's best to not expect anything- then if you do get something it will be a bonus bonus

ratbuddy

Where I work, the bonus is split in two periods, ending at the end of June and end of December. The checks aren't cut until a month or two after the bonus period. If you leave or get written up before the checks are actually cut, no bonus for you.

EagerDinosaur

I left partway through a bonus period, and was very surprised a few months later to receive a pro-rata bonus payment. It was only a few hundred UK pounds though. I think most companies don't pay out like this.

Burnsie

In a previous job, a coworker was given the option of using remaining PTO days to get past December 31st. The director of HR approved the request and her reasoning was that the employee had earned it throughout the year, so why should they be punished for leaving a few days early.

If you have any PTO, you may want to run this by your HR people. My advice is to be up front about it and not sneaky. Just ask it as a casual question. Worst case scenario, you're in the same spot now. This and other reasons are why I treat HR like royal gods/goddesses. They have the final say in almost all benefits.

B

greg9891

yeah I'm pretty sure your Bonus is gone! but you can live with the circumstances.....it couldn't be help....loose somthing good for something great!

bugzy3188

Just had my exit interview and figured I'd just come out and ask the HR rep, she said they will be giving me my full bonus for the year...woot! Judging by the mixed experiences here I guess there really is no "norm" or accepted practice when it comes to this. Still great input though!

UnixGuy

Take the new job, bonus is not worth it...

Dakinggamer87

bugzy3188 wrote: »

Just had my exit interview and figured I'd just come out and ask the HR rep, she said they will be giving me my full bonus for the year...woot! Judging by the mixed experiences here I guess there really is no "norm" or accepted practice when it comes to this. Still great input though!

Awesome!!

Burnsie

bugzy3188 wrote: »

Just had my exit interview and figured I'd just come out and ask the HR rep, she said they will be giving me my full bonus for the year...woot! Judging by the mixed experiences here I guess there really is no "norm" or accepted practice when it comes to this. Still great input though!

Boom! That's awesome! Congrats! Like I said, HR people CAN be your friend.

B