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Sep 24 2008   9:53AM GMT

Must every company give a holiday bonus?



Posted by: Yusuf Salwati
CEO, Productivity, Diversity, Office politics

As manager working in a new country (Qatar), I was asked by my employees to give a holiday bonus, a religious holiday is coming up soon (the celebration after the month of fasting (Rhamadn) for the Muslims.)

Our accounting department added the holiday bonus to this month (September) salaries, but the CEO of the company was absolutely against the idea, he said “a holiday bonus is something left to the management to decided on and it should not be included in our accounting records, it should not be a regular practice.”

I have been working as an independent consultant for several years now, and I can’t really recall while working in corporate America if I have ever received a “Holiday Bonus.” I still recall employees talking about getting a bonus, but I am not sure if we received anything or it was a common practice for our company.

I think in many parts of the world, its socially accepted practice, but its not required by law.

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Suzmonster  |   Sep 24 2008   1:01PM GMT

It’s not required by law to give holiday bonuses in the US. I know teachers in my area of the country can’t receive holiday bonuses because it’s outside of their budgeted salary for the school district.

I have gotten these bonuses in many forms including an end-of-the-year/holiday bonus based on performance, a Christmas ham, and a holiday bonus check. It seems holiday bonuses are dependent on the individual business. In the US the only time of the year we “expect” a holiday bonus is in December, if we get one at all.

I think holiday bonuses show good will to employees but I don’t believe employees should expect them. I know I don’t.


 

AndreaF  |   Sep 30 2008   10:29PM GMT

Not required in Canada, either. Certainly socially accepted, but should not be expected. The large corporation I left recently gave out Christmas ‘gifts’ - generally a gift certificate for a grocery chain. We also received - some years, not all - an annual bonus which I was told was a form of profit sharing in a good year.