Survey shows how many are offering bonuses, and how many are boosting the amount
A more festive holiday season may be on the way for many employees, as nearly all Canadian employers plan to award year-end bonuses this year.
Overall, 95 per cent of employers plan to award a year-end bonus to their teams.
And nearly two in three (65 per cent) plan to provide a bonus higher than last year, finds the Robert Half survey of 1,056 hiring managers across Canada conducted this month.
Meanwhile, 24 per cent plan to give workers the same amount as the bonus they awarded last year.
And just six per cent are looking to give workers a bonus lower than what they gave last year.
If their companies would not offer year-end bonuses, managers say they would instead ask HR/leadership about offering other perks and benefits including more schedule flexibility, more time off, and team building activities, as well as other recognition options, according to the report.
Retention considerations with bonuses
A previous Robert Half report noted that 71 per cent of employees say they will “seriously contemplate” leaving their current job if they miss out on a year-end bonus.
And just because workers are not confident with the job market does not mean that they will not be heading out the door, according to a recent report. In fact, 74 per cent of Canadian professionals are considering changing jobs, even though they stand to benefit by staying with their current employer, reports Robert Walters.
“Canadian companies still face hiring challenges now and into 2025, and rewarding teams through bonuses and other recognition efforts can play a major role in retaining top talent,” says Robert Half.
Bank bonuses for 2024
Despite a year marked by tepid activity in dealmaking and capital markets this year, Canada’s six largest banks are preparing to reward employees with significant increases in variable compensation for 2024, according to a BNN Bloomberg report.
Bonus pools at these banks have risen by an average of 12.2% compared to the previous fiscal year, according to the report.
Specifically, bonus pays at these employers increased year-over-year by:
- 19.1 per cent at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
- 16.2 per cent at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
- 13.9 per cent at the National Bank of Canada
- 10.2 per cent at Toronto Dominion (TD) Bank
- 5.1 per cent at Bank of Montreal (BMO)
- 4.2 per cent at Scotiabank
Bankers who help companies sell debt may see the biggest gains, with payouts set to rise as much as 35%, according to the report, citing said compensation consultant Johnson Associates.
“This year’s incentive compensation reflects a combination of factors including year-over-year annual salary increases and higher business specific incentives reflecting strong performance in wholesale banking (including a full fiscal year of TD Cowen) and wealth management,” TD spokesperson Elizabeth Goldenshtein told BNN Bloomberg via email.
Despite laying off workers earlier this year, the board of directors for CBC and Radio-Canada has approved bonuses for some staff for work they did in the last fiscal year. A total of 1,194 eligible employees were paid out bonuses for 2023-2024 fiscal year, according to a previous report from The Canadian Press (CP).
