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ChillDoubt | 12:50 Fri 25th Apr 2014 | News
11 Answers
RBS plan for 200% bonuses blocked by Treasury body

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27154184

Why is there this continuing culture to award off-the-scale bonuses at a bank that continues to lose money at a record rate?
Seriously, I cannot fathom the mindset of those in this industry, it is at times truly staggering, particularly when I hear that we have got to pay these bonuses in order to keep the best staff for the job. I'd hate to see what a bunch of complete amateurs would do!
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It is a bizarre culture. When you start most jobs you are given specific tasks and targets. If you meet them you keep your job. If you do not meet them, you get your P45. Some firms offer incentives to boost productivity and a bonus is paid. But a bonus equal to your annual salary, or event twice your annual salary seems out of proportion. And when the bonus is paid...
13:05 Fri 25th Apr 2014
It is a bizarre culture.
When you start most jobs you are given specific tasks and targets. If you meet them you keep your job. If you do not meet them, you get your P45. Some firms offer incentives to boost productivity and a bonus is paid. But a bonus equal to your annual salary, or event twice your annual salary seems out of proportion. And when the bonus is paid whilst the company is still severely in debt just adds to the madness.

It might just be acceptable if the performance of these companies was exceptional and the workforce were clearly earning their keep. But RBS lost £5.5Billion last year. And they want to reward some with 200% bonuses - very bizarre.
//When you start most jobs you are given specific tasks and targets. If you meet them you keep your job. If you do not meet them, you get your P45.//

Except the civil service, teacher, pretty much any public body where UNITE are of course.

ChilD, I am not quite sure what your beef is. I can understand perhaps your dismay at RBS but you also slam 'the industry' which in the main is making money and tax payers dont own them.

But let me ask you one question. If you were top of your game and someone said come along to RPS, great job but your pay is going to be an awful lot less than you could get elsewhere, what would you do?

apart from a few odd balls most would go for the better paid job, which means if you are not paying the rate then you get the odd balls.

As for bonuses larger than salary, this is nothing new. Sales people for instance work this way all the time.

Where it goes wrong is paying the bonus for failure. However failure in the case of a broken company is not directly connected to revenue.




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But let me ask you one question. If you were top of your game and someone said come along to RPS, great job but your pay is going to be an awful lot less than you could get elsewhere, what would you do?
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If I was losing money hand over fist yet was supposedly 'the best person for the job' I'd wonder what exactly the f*ck I'd done to supposedly deserve a bonus of 200%!!!!
Secondly I'd be ashamed to even ask for such in these times of austerity but there's the crux I guess, no shame, no dignity in the banking industry.
Nice answer Chill :-)
But if you came into a company that was knackered and you were starting to turn it round, would you not expect correct recompense?

The people running it now did not drive it into the ground. Why should they be penalized?

//no shame, no dignity in the banking industry. //

Is that not a rather sweeping statement to make of hundreds of thousands of people who wil, eventually provide you with a nice economy again and undoubtedly many are helping your pension along?

Plus of course many are paid only average salary or less with a very small bonus.
Question Author
But if you came into a company that was knackered and you were starting to turn it round, would you not expect correct recompense?
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No, I'd knuckle down and get the job done and get in the black before I even considered asking for a bonus!:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26365405

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26366296

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25742994

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9687000/9687918.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8392000/8392383.stm

In February, the RBS chief exec said this:

Speaking in east London he said it was vital that RBS regained the public's trust: "We are the least trusted company in the least trusted segment in business".



Hardly endearing themselves with this latest request, are they?

Government support for saving the banking industry peaked at £1.1Trillion.
We didn't have all that money so we have borrowed it. It will take years to pay it back, in the meantime millions in the country have suffered from the austerity measures.

But all that can be forgotten because ymb has promised to // eventually provide you with a nice economy again //

Why are we so ungrateful?
Even in an organisation that is losing money there are usually still parts that meet targets and make profits to offset some of the huge losses in other parts. If the bonuses are contractually agreed as a way of attracting and incentivising the best staff in specialist area and the targets are met then I don't see what's wrong with paying a large bonus. I, like many others cannot understand why someone would need a huge bonus to do their job well- most of us are happy to receive a decent rate of pay, some thank yous, a small bonus perhaps and take pride in meeting targets- but for some people in high demand (investment fund managers etc) there is a culture in most countries of wanting more .
Gromit, Chilld. You just dont get it do you and twisting my words doesn't really do it although I realise both of you like blindly Banker bashing despite the fact the majority had nothing whatsoever to do with the recent problems.

Let me put it this way, pay peanuts, get monkeys. It's why the civil service struggled for so long, never attracting talent(plus advertising only in the Guardian tended to keep out anyone good)

Those that sweep up crap are usually paid more. It is far more difficult than running a going concern.

Of course we could pay them a big fat salary and no bonus. Would you prefer that?

So long as bonuses are paid to hitting target (and as I say that does not necessarily equate to profit) then I have no problem. I do have a problem if it is paid for no or low performance.
Is a £5.5 billion loss a good result for RBS?

It was only last month you were crowing about the Co-op Bank's £1.5Billion losses and it has been portrayed as a huge deal. But RBS losing 3 times as much is a cause for 200% bonuses. No ymb, I don't get it.
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Let me put it this way, pay peanuts, get monkeys.
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So the bosses of a loss-making company are not already well paid enough, they have to have astronomical, eye-watering bonuses, on top of share options etc??
In 3 years time, I'll have served in the NHS for 25 years. I'll get a paperweight (that ironically looks like an ashtray!) and £100 of High Street vouchers.
Any chance of a bonus for the deaths that have been avoided in emergency situations whilst I've been on duty, somewhere in the region of 200% of my final year's salary?

Go back and take a look at all the links I provided, then tell me they're value for money and the public aren't cheesed off about hearing of one banking scandal after another, fixing the Libor etc.

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