Chief executives received an average bonus of £172,897 in the year to October 2021, data has shown, while entry level employees and routine task providers were awarded just £642 and £643 respectively.
Research from Cendex, the rewards analytics arm of HR resource provider XpertHR, found that 25% of chief executives were awarded a bonus during that 12 months, compared with only 10% of routine task providers.
More than one-third (36%) of those at a director level or above received a bonus, with average pay out of £63,027, an increase of more than £9,000 from the previous year.
Just under one-third (32%) of managers got a bonus, with the average payment at £10,408, while just over a fifth (22%) of remaining staff received one, with their average payment rising by £61 from last year to £1,418.
In the chemicals; utilities; food and drink; and transport industries, the proportion of employees with bonuses increased significantly, although the value remained largely unchanged. Conversely, there was a reduction in the number of employees receiving pay outs in the hotels; catering; and leisure sectors.
Workers in inner London received by far the highest average bonus at £8,236, while those in Northern Ireland saw an average of just £3,266. Employees in Scotland and Wales had significantly lower average bonuses of approximately £1,500.
XpertHR pay and benefits editor Sheila Attwood explained that being paid at the right level is important and added that it is crucial that businesses get this right to achieve a balance between making an employee feel valued and remaining competitive in the market.
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“It’s critical that businesses remain competitive to get the right talent leading their organisation, and the salary and bonus awarded plays a huge role,” she said. “But for the remaining staff, hearing about the big end-of-year bonus [for executives] can cause tension.
“Businesses should leverage data and build effective and fair reward strategies that enable them to recruit and retain talent across all levels.”