Bonuses hit record high

16 September 2016

Total bonus payments hit a record high this year, rising 4.4% compared with last year.

This is according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed payouts reached £44.3 billion in the financial year April 2015-March 2016. This is the first time bonuses have grown higher than their pre-crisis total of £42.5 billion, set in 2008.

Most of the money was paid to workers in the finance and insurance industry, who saw a rise of 2.2% in their bonuses this year, climbing to a total of £13.9 billion. The average payout in these industries was £13,400, compared with an average of £1,600 across the rest of the economy.

However, a fast growing proportion of the total payouts is accounted for by other professional and high-tech industries.

Handsome bonuses are generally granted to people on a higher pay, with most workers – particularly those on low wages – making do with their basic salary. The figures showed that people working in the health and social care sector received an average bonus of almost zero.

The average worker has seen wage growth fall to nearly zero since 2008.