A quarter of white-collar workers received a bonus at work this year: an average of 6,000 euros | Domestic

More and more companies are paying their employees a bonus as extra reward for their performance. A quarter of white-collar workers (24.6 percent) were already allowed to receive such a bonus on their account this year, an average of 6,000 euros.

“Due to automatic wage indexation, companies have no control over when the fixed salaries of their staff increase, but this is different with a bonus,” says Karolien Van Herpe, legal expert on remuneration at Acerta Consult. “Employers can decide for themselves whether or not to grant this, collectively or individually, and they can review their decision every year. The appreciation is also different on the employee side: wages are regarded as fixed and acquired, bonuses are not and that is precisely why they provide an extra motivation boost every time they are awarded.”

In most cases it was a collective labor agreement 90 bonus, where concrete goals for the company were agreed in advance and the bonus was awarded when these were achieved. The other collective bonus, the profit bonus, is much less popular. Only 1.9 percent of white-collar workers already received a profit bonus this year. This is because the premium depends on the annual results of a company and can only be awarded if it makes a profit. As for individual bonuses, the warrant and gross premium are the most popular.

Finally, it is not only white-collar workers who receive a bonus. In 2023, almost one in ten workers (9.8 percent) had already received a bonus from their employer. The average bonus amount for workers this year is around 1,250 euros.

The analysis was made by Acerta based on data from 505,000 employees – 314,000 white-collar workers and 191,000 blue-collar workers – employed by more than 40,000 private sector employers.