Money is one of the best incentives that employers can offer their workers. The prospect of a wage raise or promotion is often too ethereal and uncertain to have any significant impact on a worker’s performance. They could work for years before a better position opens up, and companies sometimes freeze wage increases because of poor organizational performance or a bad economy.
Therefore, businesses may offer performance-based bonuses as an incentive to do the best job possible. Employees often count on receiving those performance-based bonuses to afford certain special expenses or cover outstanding debts. When a company does not make good on its promise to provide a performance-based bonus, the workers employed there might take legal action.
Bonuses are part of someone’s compensation package
So long as the employee’s contract with the company or the handbook for their position outlines performance bonus eligibility, workers should have a right to expect bonuses as promised based on their performance. When an employer refuses to pay a bonus, the worker could potentially pursue a wage claim against the company if they cannot resolve the matter amicably.
Particularly in a scenario where an employee has already left their position at a company, they may find they have very little leverage when negotiating with their former employer. A wage claim may be the only way to secure the compensation promised in someone’s employment agreement.
A successful wage claim can result in a worker receiving the bonus they earned and prompt the business to be more proactive about fulfilling its promises to individual workers. Taking legal action is sometimes a necessary component of a successful Florida wage claim.