You can't quit, we need you!
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A coworker started a week after I did. We have essentially the same experience, skills and contributions (quantity and quality) to our department. During the interviews, both of us were promised (prorated) bonuses. What we did not know, and were never told, was that I started before the magic no-bonus-cutoff-date and he started after it.
Bonus time comes along and I got paid, and he did not. Naturally, upon inquiring, he found out what had happened, but of course, it's too late and "we'll take care of you next year". He was royally PO'd so he found another job and gave his notice.
The boss responded "Why? We'll take care of you next year! You can't quit, we need you!" You can imagine the back-and-forth that ensued.
Personally, I'd have done the same.
Opinions?
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@snoofle said:
Opinions?
I'm assuming that they didn't 'take care of him this year'?If I had somewhere else to go, I'd have done the same.
I assume this means your work-load has/will double?
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Sounds like a good decision. Especially since the boss just doesn't get it.
"We screwed you over and will do nothing to fix it. But it's ok cause you can trust us to do the right thing next yea- wait, why are you leaving?"
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@snoofle said:
A coworker started a week after I did. We have essentially the same experience, skills and contributions (quantity and quality) to our department. During the interviews, both of us were promised (prorated) bonuses. What we did not know, and were never told, was that I started before the magic no-bonus-cutoff-date and he started after it.
Bonus time comes along and I got paid, and he did not. Naturally, upon inquiring, he found out what had happened, but of course, it's too late and "we'll take care of you next year". He was royally PO'd so he found another job and gave his notice.
The boss responded "Why? We'll take care of you next year! You can't quit, we need you!" You can imagine the back-and-forth that ensued.
Personally, I'd have done the same.
Opinions?
Can't say I blame him. He did better than most people who would just sit and complain.
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Any promises like that - whether it's bonuses, promotions, window seat etc. - you want to get in writing before signing. If he had this and they won't pay, then threaten to sue them as it's a clear violation of contract.
One place I worked at, we were promised a "discretionary" bonus of around one months salary. Come pay-up time, it actually turned out to be the wrong side of $50 after taxes. Needless to say, this exact same thing happened and people walked. A discretionary bonus is just that - count it as zero until the cash is in the bank.
Don't get me wrong - your company has definitely screwed him around, so if the guy wants to walk, fair play to him.
Remember - if your company that does that to one member of staff will also do it to any other.
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@JukeboxJim said:
Any promises like that - whether it's bonuses, promotions, window seat etc. - you want to get in writing before signing. If he had this and they won't pay, then threaten to sue them as it's a clear violation of contract.
One place I worked at, we were promised a "discretionary" bonus of around one months salary. Come pay-up time, it actually turned out to be the wrong side of $50 after taxes. Needless to say, this exact same thing happened and people walked. A discretionary bonus is just that - count it as zero until the cash is in the bank.
In the UK verbal terms are still legally binding - just less easy to prove.
Even if they are not legally binding I would also leave.
Consider this: You are in a restaurant and ask the waiter and he says that the soup of the day is chiken soup. You order it and when it turns up it is mushroom soup. Should you blame yourself for not getting it in writing? No! You were given a verbal assurance of something and it turned out not to be true.
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@PJH said:
@snoofle said:
Opinions?
I'm assuming that they didn't 'take care of him this year'?If I had somewhere else to go, I'd have done the same.
I assume this means your work-load has/will double?
They gave him zero.
They may think my workload will double, but it's unlikely as they'll probably just go out and hire someone else.
I've had a couple of companies pull this on me, and I too, have walked out on them. One in particular, decided (without telling anyone in advance) that they were only going to give 1 in 10 people a bonus. None of the folks who got bonuses were the folks who worked the long hours or did the real work. 13/14 of their senior-most people (including me) quit within two weeks. They (managers) didn't care. This is why I have no loyalty to anyone. Sad, but true.
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@snoofle said:
Personally, I'd have done the same.
I'd be hard pressed not to leave myself if that happened to a coworker. If they screwed him, it is highly probable that they will screw you at some point.
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@snoofle said:
Personally, I'd have done the same.
Likewise. Noone should have to deal with that shit.
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That's pretty much a no-brainer. No use in waiting another year to get the same kind of runaround.
Of course, you would need to find something better before quitting, but it sounds like this guy did that.
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You should quit as well. They'll screw you as soon as they have the chance. Plus if they freaked out about your coworker leaving, imagine the fun looks you'll get to see when you bail on them too.
Just check any fine print in relation to your bonus. You might have to stick around for n days before you're allowed to keep it.
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@snoofle said:
This is why I have no loyalty to anyone. Sad, but true.
Well, loyalty has to be earned. It's a mistake to feel a sense of loyalty to your employer for no reason. But I'm sure you'd have loyalty given the right circumstance in the future.
That said, sounds like your current employer has already sown the seeds of distrust. Good start.
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@GettinSadda said:
Consider this: You are in a restaurant and ask the waiter and he says that the soup of the day is chiken soup. You order it and when it turns up it is mushroom soup. Should you blame yourself for not getting it in writing? No! You were given a verbal assurance of something and it turned out not to be true.
If it makes you feel better, tell that to yourself while you're out of pocket and looking for another job.
Best way to solve a problem is to avoid the situation in the first place. Someplace that is trying to BS you with "promises" before you get through the door either should back them up and write them into your contract to begin with or retract them. This sounds out the employer as to how honest and scrupulous they are.
I'm not saying it's the guy's fault here, just that you should always be wary of verbal agreements like this; particularly over money.
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Seems pretty cut and dried. The company promised him something and reneged. When he quit, they tried to keep him with another promise to be fulfilled a long time from now. In his shoes, I would've just laughed in the boss' face and left.
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@spacecadet said:
reneged.
What? They hired a black guy and then hired another one? I don't remember that being part of the story.
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@Lysis said:
Huh ‽ ‽@spacecadet said:
reneged.
What? They hired a black guy and then hired another one? I don't remember that being part of the story.
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Just report him. I did.
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I hate bonuses that are dependent on sales or company performance. I'm all for helping to improve the bottom line, don't get me wrong. But I don't trust bean counters. I'm pretty sure that at least one performance-based bonus was yanked at a previous employer simply by massaging the numbers. After they announced a great quarterly performance at the all-hands meeting, but then wait, when the time came for bonus checks to be cut, the numbers suddenly weren't *quite* high enough.
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@jetcitywoman said:
I hate bonuses that are dependent on sales or company performance.
We were told at one point that we'd get a bonus due to record profits in one quarter. But then, they decided not to do it because the next quarter was not so good. They did away with our Christmas bonuses immediately after the merger years ago. The only bonus we got was a retention bonus a year later. It was given as an incentive to stay because so many people left as soon as the merger intent was announced. So, we no longer get bonuses, we are blamed for low profits (what exactly can we control since we only sell to government agencies that run on grants, etc?!), and we've had to start paying part of our insurance premiums. Most people here only got a 2% raise last year. Oh the joys of working for a multi-headed Hydra of a public company!
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@snoofle said:
A coworker started a week after I did. We have essentially the same experience, skills and contributions (quantity and quality) to our department. During the interviews, both of us were promised (prorated) bonuses. What we did not know, and were never told, was that I started before the magic no-bonus-cutoff-date and he started after it.
Bonus time comes along and I got paid, and he did not. Naturally, upon inquiring, he found out what had happened, but of course, it's too late and "we'll take care of you next year". He was royally PO'd so he found another job and gave his notice.
The boss responded "Why? We'll take care of you next year! You can't quit, we need you!" You can imagine the back-and-forth that ensued.
Personally, I'd have done the same.
Opinions?
After a stunt like that, I'd stay under exactly one condition: that they managed to get the bonus check to me before I made it to the front door.
