Over half of Irish Workers do not expect a Christmas bonus this year, despite 65% feeling that they deserve one

New research by One4all shows that over half (51%) of Irish workers do not expect to receive a Christmas bonus this year – and just one quarter (25%) reckon they will receive one. This is despite 65% of respondents believing that they deserve a Christmas bonus, and a significant 85% agreeing that employers should give staff bonuses for the holiday season.
Additionally, there is low awareness of the €500 tax-free small benefit exemption on non-cash rewards, available to all Irish employers. Just under half (48%) of respondents are aware of this exemption

New research finds that:

• 65% of Irish workers feel that they deserve a Christmas bonus this year and 85% agree that employers should give staff Christmas bonuses
• Despite this, just over half of Irish workers do not expect a Christmas bonus this year – only 25% say that they expect a bonus
  Just half (48%) of respondents are aware of the €500 tax-free small benefit exemption on non-cash rewards.
• Close to three quarters (72%) of Irish workers have said that a bonus would significantly improve their Christmas, and over half (51%) of respondents say they spend some of their Christmas bonus each year on gifting
• 36% do not make a budget at all for Christmas spending, and of those that do budget for Christmas, 64% go over it

The research, commissioned by One4all and undertaken by Coyne, aims to understand attitudes toward Christmas spending – and whether a Christmas bonus is important to Irish workers in the lead up to Christmas.

Findings show that despite a low number of workers feeling that they will receive a bonus for their hard work, it would go a long way toward improving their holidays. A whopping 72% of respondents say that receiving a bonus would significantly improve their Christmas, and over half (51%) say that they spend some of their Christmas bonus each year on gifting – relieving some pressure from what can be a very expensive season.

The belief that a bonus at Christmas is important extends beyond the workers themselves – over half (53%) of those surveyed also felt that their boss deserves a Christmas bonus.