Bummer. No bonus this year!

[Night Elf]

DH works for HP and he just found out there are no year-end bonuses this year. That's where we get our Christmas money. Now we have to figure out what to do. Our kids already know what cash they're getting because it's been the same for the past several years. We can either pull out of savings and build it back it up over the next few months, or explain to the kids that we didn't get the bonus so no one gets their big gift. That's so disappointing!

[mommyoffive]

Ugh sorry

 

I would think about your whole situation before pulling from savings. 

[Spryte]

I’m sorry. That stinks.

[Tap]

(((hugs)))) what a cruddy time to find out. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh bummer.  I am wondering if DH will get anything.  They aren't having an xmas party due to not making some sort of goal.  Hopefully that also does not mean no bonus. 

 

Interestingly when the economy tanked that was a boon for the company.  Now...not quite as much. 

 

 

[ErinE]

As a tween and teen, I lived the experience of financially challenging Christmases (I wasn’t as aware when I was younger). My parents were upfront about the reality and I was disappointed but ultimately understood. I think older children will feel the same. I wouldn’t pull money from savings.

Edited December 4, 2017 by ErinE

[historically accurate]

Hugs, OP.

 

DH didn't get his bonus this year either. His usually comes in August (fiscal year ends in July), so I had to scrape together curriculum on a dime this year. 

[Lecka]

I would tell them early if they won't get their expected gift.  My sister doesn't do this anymore, but she used to count on a cash gift from my parents and charge her own kids' presents, and then pay for them with the cash gift.  She definitely wasn't entitled or anything, she just planned that way. 

 

That's pretty extreme, but they might be expecting it in their budgeting and need to spend differently, and they can plan ahead for what they really want to do. 

 

I'm sorry, too, I hope it is back next year!  And how disappointing to find out with such short notice!!!!!

Edited December 4, 2017 by Lecka

[Night Elf]

Yeah, I talked to DH and I'm going to tell the kids we need to scale back just a little. I already have presents for them that I didn't spend a lot of money on. I only need to buy candy for stockings. We're still going to give them some cash but just not as much. I also gave up the rest of my cash gift so they could have more. I've spent some of my money on clothes but I'm really good and don't need anything else. What we need to pull out of savings isn't bad at all and perfectly doable. I know my kids will understand. I am disappointed that I have to share this news with them. I don't want them feeling guilty for what they are getting. We are giving what we can comfortably afford.

[scholastica]

That stinks they waited until now to tell them!! Did the people in the C-Suite get bonuses?

[KathyBC]

DH works for HP and he just found out there are no year-end bonuses this year. That's where we get our Christmas money. Now we have to figure out what to do. Our kids already know what cash they're getting because it's been the same for the past several years. We can either pull out of savings and build it back it up over the next few months, or explain to the kids that we didn't get the bonus so no one gets their big gift. That's so disappointing!

I'd split the difference. Give a smaller portion of gift, explaining lack of bonus, build savings back up in less time.

[Night Elf]

That stinks they waited until now to tell them!! Did the people in the C-Suite get bonuses?

 

DH had taken last Friday off as a vacation day and the meeting was a surprise. When he got to work this morning, his coworker filled him in. I don't know how much they know. DH only emailed me that he wasn't getting it this year.

[marbel]

Ugh, I'm sorry.

 

My kids have had to adjust to smaller Christmases over the past several years.  We've always been upfront about it, so they know what to expect - or should I say, what not to expect.  Also, we let them know so they don't worry that something is wrong. But I have a catastrophizer in the house, so any unusual changes are likely to be met with suspicion.

 

:grouphug:

 

 

[vonfirmath]

I would tell them early if they won't get their expected gift.  My sister doesn't do this anymore, but she used to count on a cash gift from my parents and charge her own kids' presents, and then pay for them with the cash gift.  She definitely wasn't entitled or anything, she just planned that way. 

 

That's pretty extreme, but they might be expecting it in their budgeting and need to spend differently, and they can plan ahead for what they really want to do. 

 

I'm sorry, too, I hope it is back next year!  And how disappointing to find out with such short notice!!!!!

 

We don't get our bonus until the Christmas party (Which is the week before Christmas). I would not expect to be notified if there is no bonus -- its extra.  In fact, I would not be surprised if there is no bonus this year due to projects going over cost (lots of overtime) and the increase in health costs for the company (which they entirely absorbed this time)

 

 

But then I've thought this in the past and still received a bonus. So waiting and seeing and trying not to spend the money before I have it.

[Night Elf]

Ugh, I'm sorry.

 

My kids have had to adjust to smaller Christmases over the past several years.  We've always been upfront about it, so they know what to expect - or should I say, what not to expect.  Also, we let them know so they don't worry that something is wrong. But I have a catastrophizer in the house, so any unusual changes are likely to be met with suspicion.

 

:grouphug:

 

Yes I understand. My worrier is in college and is already worried a great deal about how much we're spending for her to be there. She's got herself under an enormous amount of pressure to maintain her grades. I'm going to have to approach her gently with this one. She'll say we're spending too much on her and that's why we don't have enough money for Christmas. Mercy me.

[OneStepAtATime]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug: 

 

Try to present this as simply a matter of fact.  It happens.  Try not to project that you feel bad.  That makes them feel bad.  Just explain, matter of fact, no need for stress or panic.  Life happens.  They aren't little any more.  It's a good life lesson, actually.

[Carol in Cal.]

Wow, the economy is doing so well that if that company is not I think I would start looking for another job.  It's a shot across the bow for sure.

[Night Elf]

Wow, the economy is doing so well that if that company is not I think I would start looking for another job.  It's a shot across the bow for sure.

 

Yeah, I'd love to know their reasoning behind this decision. DH is also due to have his year-end review. I wonder if they'll offer a raise this year. He doesn't get one every year. He'd rather not change jobs because he'd like to retire in 9 years and he is making an excellent salary and putting in a lot to our retirement fund. I don't want all of that getting messed up. However, if HP offers another early retirement package, he's going to take it. It's been 5 years since the last time they did that though. It's not a regular thing.

[Arcadia]

It’s a bummer and I can understand. We use our tax refunds for property tax payment but our tax refunds are now so low that we pay property tax out of savings instead of being able to cover with tax refunds.

 

Wow, the economy is doing so well that if that company is not I think I would start looking for another job. It's a shot across the bow for sure.

My husband’s current and past few employers did not offer yearly bonuses, only performance bonuses which is not guaranteed.

My first job was with HP, no yearly bonus either as bonuses were department dependent so it depends on how much profit the department made at year end closing. A friend was retrenched from HP and managed to be rehired more than six months later.

HPE is changing CEOs next year around March as Meg Whitman is stepping down from that post.

[mom2scouts]

That stinks if you depend on it for Christmas.  Fortunately, your kids are old enough to understand why they may only get a small gift this year. We've only had a Christmas bonus a couple of times in 30 years, so I would never expect or depend on it and would consider a bonus to be a windfall. 

[Word Nerd]

Wow, the economy is doing so well that if that company is not I think I would start looking for another job.  It's a shot across the bow for sure.

 

It depends on what industry you're in, where you live, etc.

[JustEm]

We generally do not know if dh is getting a bonus until the last paycheck before Christmas. It just shows up in our account. Some years they have just handed him cash. It is certainly nothing we've ever expected. The years we don't get it do suck though

[kiwik]

It’s a bummer and I can understand. We use our tax refunds for property tax payment but our tax refunds are now so low that we pay property tax out of savings instead of being able to cover with tax refunds.

 

 

My husband’s current and past few employers did not offer yearly bonuses, only performance bonuses which is not guaranteed.

My first job was with HP, no yearly bonus either as bonuses were department dependent so it depends on how much profit the department made at year end closing. A friend was retrenched from HP and managed to be rehired more than six months later.

HPE is changing CEOs next year around March as Meg Whitman is stepping down from that post.

I think most of the less well paid jobs don't do bonuses etc although i did once get a $300 one. My cutrent employer gave out $100 of vouchers at the end of this financial year which was cool but didn't affect finances that much.

[displace]

Bummer!

[luuknam]

Wow, the economy is doing so well that if that company is not I think I would start looking for another job.  It's a shot across the bow for sure.

 

 

It doesn't necessarily mean much of anything - there was one year nobody in DW's company got a raise and only her team got a bonus (and a much smaller than usual one at that), but the company wasn't doing badly - it was just that they'd had a major acquisition and had some temporary cash flow issues. Which, of course, isn't ideal, but the company's done just fine since then, and she's had raises and bigger bonuses all the other years, so, w/e. 

[Prairie~Phlox]

I would be honest & not take from savings. This is part of life.

[Lizzie in Ma]

That absolutely stinks!

Couldn't resist, this was the first thing I thought of....

https://youtu.be/g_RTPUv_vr0

[Night Elf]

That absolutely stinks!

Couldn't resist, this was the first thing I thought of....

https://youtu.be/g_RTPUv_vr0

 

That is my 2nd favorite Christmas movie! 

[chiguirre]

Wow, the economy is doing so well that if that company is not I think I would start looking for another job.  It's a shot across the bow for sure.

 

It seems to be a new trend in employee relations:

 

The economy is humming along. Profits are up. Confidence is high. The stock market is breaking records. So with all this great economic news you would think that most employers would be feeling kind of flush this holiday season — and planning to pay out more year end bonuses. Turns out, the opposite is happening.

 

Administrators of the survey interviewed about 150 human resources executives this fall and found that less than half (39 percent) will be offering holiday cash bonuses this year — and that number declined from 41 percent in 2016. In addition, more employers (35 percent) are saying they’re giving no year-end awards of any type at the end of the year, which is up from 30 percent in 2016. Of those giving bonuses, eight of ten will keep the amounts the same as last year, despite showing higher profits. Bah humbug!

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2017/12/01/more-employers-are-saying-bah-humbug-to-bonuses-this-holiday-season/?utm_term=.2bf78240f537

[Hilltopmom]

Not only have we experienced no more bonuses, dh works for a name brand large company and their policy is NO raises... ever.

(Not even “cost of living†increases)

 

You can get a promotion to a different position that pays more or transfer elsewhere in the company that might include increased pay but for your current position you were hired at- no raises.

 

Um yeah- he didn’t know that when he took the position but in our rural area he’s lucky he has a good job in his field. But knowing he will never make more is one reason I went back to teaching this year.

[Word Nerd]

Not only have we experienced no more bonuses, dh works for a name brand large company and their policy is NO raises... ever.

(Not even “cost of living†increases)

 

You can get a promotion to a different position that pays more or transfer elsewhere in the company that might include increased pay but for your current position you were hired at- no raises.

 

This isn't an official policy where I work and in theory we could get raises again in the future, but it's effectively become the de facto policy because the salary increase freeze has been in effect for several years.

[Annie G]

Dh works for a large company that is earning record profits and their stock price is at an all time high. But he's had two weeks of furlough this fall.  Raises have been less than cost of living for years.  They have cut his staff from 30 to 8 over the past few years.  Now you see why they have record profits and a high stock price. 

 

His staff is folks who have worked for this company for decades. They aren't going anywhere.  The way to get ahead now is to move every few years to a new company or to take a new job within a company. It's just not like the old days when people got a good job and stayed there for their whole career.   At least not in the industry he's in.  

 

[Hilltopmom]

They must be generous with advancements or I don’t see how they can retain employees! Wowza. The best companies reward and encourage A players, they don’t tell them out of the gate that this is all they’ll ever be unless there happens to be an opening up the chain.

 

That stinks :(.

Yup. Sucks even more when it’s a huge huge company that’s doing great with very very rich owners.

Not sure how they keep employees in the rest of the country. It in our area, it’s one of few options for dh’s field so he’s kinda stuck if we want to stay here , and we do... across the street from my brother’s family and a few doors down from my parents.

[SamanthaCarter]

This is why I don’t buy the whole tax cuts for business will be good for employment line. It will be good for Wall Street insiders.

 

I’m so sorry. My dh just got let go mostly because he was one of the highest paid within his department.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Arcadia]

Not only have we experienced no more bonuses, dh works for a name brand large company and their policy is NO raises... ever.

(Not even “cost of living†increases)

 

You can get a promotion to a different position that pays more or transfer elsewhere in the company that might include increased pay but for your current position you were hired at- no raises.

It’s similar where my husband work except a new employee take about five years to max out on their pay scale. My husband did know about the max out before hand. The only good thing is they are not in a rush to layoff older engineers as fresh graduates are only slightly cheaper in terms of wages.

 

For the past few years, my husband was told to promote to management for a pay raise but the engineering management pay ceiling isn’t that high either for all the added stress. It’s the stock options that make the difference between management and technical pay.

 

My husband went job hunting because of that and got a higher offer from a competitor for the same job and his dept head managed to get HR to “price match†the offer. The competitor company’s HR also mentioned they would try to match his stock option perks if that would sway my husband to jump ship. So now we know that if we have a competing offer, HR can waive the ceiling a little. It’s a $10k raise in our case and after tax it isn’t much but still helpful since his company didn’t have cost of living increases as well the past few years.

[Garga]

Not only have we experienced no more bonuses, dh works for a name brand large company and their policy is NO raises... ever.

(Not even “cost of living†increases)

You can get a promotion to a different position that pays more or transfer elsewhere in the company that might include increased pay but for your current position you were hired at- no raises.

Um yeah- he didn’t know that when he took the position but in our rural area he’s lucky he has a good job in his field. But knowing he will never make more is one reason I went back to teaching this year.

This isn't an official policy where I work and in theory we could get raises again in the future, but it's effectively become the de facto policy because the salary increase freeze has been in effect for several years.

Dh works for a large company that is earning record profits and their stock price is at an all time high. But he's had two weeks of furlough this fall. Raises have been less than cost of living for years. They have cut his staff from 30 to 8 over the past few years. Now you see why they have record profits and a high stock price.

 

His staff is folks who have worked for this company for decades. They aren't going anywhere. The way to get ahead now is to move every few years to a new company or to take a new job within a company. It's just not like the old days when people got a good job and stayed there for their whole career. At least not in the industry he's in.

 

This is all so miserable. My DH recently got a new boss. After years and years of asking the old boss, the new boss finally agreed to get my DH some help in his department, but the person they've decided to hire for the job is someone who doesn't have anywhere near the requirements--they're moving him from one place in the company to where my DH is. Oh, and he's a prickly personality. So, bascially, my DH asked for help and they found an employee that no one wanted and are giving him to my DH to deal with. This isn't entry level stuff. This is high level work for a guy who doesn't know how to do it.

 

The boss is all pleased with himself and saying how much stuff my DH will get done now. Yeah right--with a prickly employee who doesn't know how to do the job. When my DH started, his department had 10 people. But over the years they haven't been replacing people who leave. So now, with the new prickly, unqualified person hired, they'll now have 3 people do do the work of the original 10. So for a good half year, my DH's workload will increase as he tries to train the new guy. Who has a combative personality. Ay yi yi. When DH is talking with the boss about work coming up, the boss says, "Well, you can get New Guy to do that," and DH says, "But he doesn't know how to do that yet. I'll have to do that part." Boss says, "Then you can have him to something else." But New Guy doesn't know how to do 90% of what they need. New Guy will have only 10% of work to do.

 

I wish my dh would look for a new job. He's so stressed and his cholesterol is high and his blood pressure is high, etc. But then I wonder if he'd be back in the same boat in a new job. I never, ever ask him how his day was at work because it's always bad and there's nothing I can do to help.

Edited December 5, 2017 by Garga