When discussing bonus trends we always jokingly say that if all the bonus hopes in the City were to be full-filled in any given year, the bonus pool - however large it might in fact be - would have to be twice the size to satisfy the hopes of recipients.Earlier this year we
warned that employers should take great care to award bonus payments in a rationale and well-documented fashion.Recently we found an interesting piece posted by Freshfields on the Complinet website. This supports our warnings and discusses ways for employers to avoid contractual claims arising out of bonus decisions. The Freshfield article touches on questions such as: Is there any entitlement to be considered for a bonus? To what extent can a bonus be fully discretionary (if at all)? How to avoid discrimination claims.
