Can Companies Pay Bonuses Twice a Year at 8.33%? Seeking HR Insights

HR professionals, please advise me about Bonus Payment Half-Yearly. Is it possible for the company to pay a bonus after the completion of six months, twice a year, at the rate of a minimum bonus (8.33%)? I understand bonus calculation and payment are typically done annually, but I want to know if an option to pay half-yearly exists. Please provide me with the best way to pay a bonus.

According to the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, even if the employee serves the company for a period of 30 days, that employee is considered eligible for a bonus. The bonus is paid yearly, and there is no provision for paying half-yearly. Hope this satisfies your query.

Regards,

The Bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act is to be paid within 8 months from the close of the accounting year, and the Act does not provide for payment of it in installments.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

Bonus can be paid two times a year. In that case, you will show it as an advance bonus. There is a provision even in the C register for the payment of advance bonus.

Regards

I have not come across any provision under the Payment of Bonus Act or under the Rules that supports the view that a bonus can be paid at half-yearly intervals. The interim or advance bonus referred to in Form-C, in my view, is what an employer may pay to an employee pending the disbursement of the bonus under the Act. Such a payment towards the final bonus, in my view, has to be adjusted against the bonus under the Act when paid to employees. It cannot be construed that the bonus under the Act is payable at half-yearly intervals.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

Bonus Payment in Installments

Bonuses can be paid in two installments. In the first installment, you can pay a bonus like a Pooja bonus or any other type. After calculating it annually, you can deduct it from the yearly calculation and maintain Form - C.

Regards

Clarification on Puja Bonus and Statutory Bonus

Puja Bonus or customary bonus is not the bonus that is to be calculated in the manner prescribed and paid under the Act. Therefore, it is not to be mistaken for statutory bonus under the Act. If such Puja bonus, etc., has been paid by the employer, the same can be adjusted against the statutory bonus payable under the Act. Therefore, it cannot be construed that the statutory bonus can be paid in two installments.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai