November 29, 2011

Question:

Jennifer,

Is it okay for me to give a well-deserved bonus this season to one office employee but not to others?

Thanks, Dr. Q

Answer:

Sure, unless you have a policy that says otherwise, which you may and not be aware of.  If you have an employee handbook that states employees shall be compensated in accordance with how other similarly situated employees are compensated, you may be opening a can of worms for yourself.  Of course, the non-bonused employees would have to first find out about the bonus and then raise office policy concerns as an argument as to why they also deserved to be bonused.  Should your practice not have a policy governing benefits and compensation, you clearly have no reason to check whether you have a policy in place requiring same treatment for similarly situated employees, however, if you have developed a pattern of “same for all”, you may be stepping into hot water by bonusing one over others due to the implied patterns of the practice.  Your best bet to avoid aggravation in a scenario such as the above – where you are just trying to be a good employer – is to make sure you have individual arrangements with you employees set forth in an employment agreement or employment letter, that compensation is specific to that employee.  Having a contract to fall back on that not everyone must be bonused the same will likely prove easier than ensuring no other employees find out about the bonus to one and not all.

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