# Christmas Bonus



## RCPainting (Jan 29, 2006)

How do you handle giving a Christmas bonus?
Pay cash? Pay check and take taxes out? % of employee's pay?% of profit. In my years as an employee it was always different.
I have one full time employee who did a great job all year, company did really well for first year. I have provided him a phone, truck, gas and clothing. 
Thanks


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## Dave Mac (Jan 30, 2006)

Cash is what they want, and thats what Ive been doing for many years. Up to about 200, per employee


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## Jake Stevens (Dec 10, 2007)

*Chrismas bonus*

I always done bonus' by check so that I would get the tax write off. If he a lead man and done a great job all year he would get a weeks pay. If I think he's done good job but 100% of what he could do. He may get 1/2 weeks pay.


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## AllAmerican (Nov 17, 2007)

We always issue a check and take out all taxes for any bonuses or compensation. This will keep you and the employee on the right side of the IRS. 

In the past, we have computed bonuses for hourly personnel at 1% of their base pay (i.e. 2080 hrs. X $ 20.00 p/hr = $ 41,600.00 X .01 =$ 416.00). If they have only been with you for six months, use those hours to compute the amount. This process equalizes the bonus rate but provides more money to the employees who make more per hour (usually the employees you want to give more to anyway).

This may not be the best method but I hope it gives you some ideas. I also find this one of the most difficult compensation issues to deal with. 

Remember, whatever you pay as a bonus, it is likely that the rest of your field crew will know what you gave each person.


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

Back when I had employees their Christmas Bonus would be tool money. Tradesmen like tools and must provide their own. Having good tools is good for them and good for me. Give them gift certificates with the specific instruction that the money be spent on tools.

Oftentimes the tradesmen want new tools but their significant other has other ideas how to spend money. This gives them quality tools and that helps us all.


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## Ron The Plumber (Oct 10, 2006)

thom said:


> Give them gift certificates with the specific instruction that the money be spent on tools.


BS, you give out a bonus cause your employees make you money, let them spent it the way they want. :furious:

Maybe they would rather get diapers for there kid/s, food in there mouths, cost of living may not seem bad for you, but for those that work for you it can get tight. 

Your not a dictator.


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## deckman22 (Oct 20, 2007)

For guys that have been with me for at least a year I give them a C-note & a butterball turkey or spiral cut ham. For new guys they get the turkey or ham. It's not much, but I'm not a big time GC, it lets them know I care what they do for me.

Al


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## TaitINC (Nov 30, 2007)

...


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## Ed the Roofer (Dec 12, 2006)

Tait,

That is an envious postion to be in where you seem to be providing some paid vacation already and add to it with the Christmas bonus plan as I understand your comments.

For me, I hand out an occassional job incentive bonus, based on my review of several jobs throughout any given month. It does not have to be substantial, but it seems to be appreciated very musch.

When I was much heavier into larger dollar commercial projects, for several years in a row, I handed out up to $ 500.00 for the foreman and lower sums to the employees. One year I was not doing as well financially, and the highest I could give was $ 100.00.

The foremans wife called me up, beatching about it not being higher. She said that she already had that money spent. The ingrayitude still hits me to this very day. Everyone knew I was in a financial slump and was having a long delay in getting paid for multiple jobs from one GC.

From that point on, I mame sure that the one time per year bonus is limited, so that their are no undue expectations.

This year, I gave $ 125.00 to the foreman and $ 50.00 to each of the crew. But along with that, they have gotten some tools throughout the year and several lunches at a restaurant and minor bonuses periodically.

Remember, a bonus is a gift, until it becomes expected.

Ed


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## TaitINC (Nov 30, 2007)

...


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## premierpainter (Dec 29, 2006)

Jake Stevens said:


> I always done bonus' by check so that I would get the tax write off. If he a lead man and done a great job all year he would get a weeks pay. If I think he's done good job but 100% of what he could do. He may get 1/2 weeks pay.


Huh? How much better than 100% can he do? I guess if he did 150% he'll get the full weeks pay


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## plazaman (Apr 17, 2005)

Half days work, lunch, maybe a small party, and 100 cash. thats how its been for the longest.


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## BrianHay (Jun 17, 2007)

I don't have any employees yet but the last company I worked for gave me $2 for every hour worked thoughout the year. Adds up to a really nice bonus. Not everyone got $2, that was for top operators and everyone else got a $1. It wasn't called a Christmas bonus though, called it an insentive to encourage people to stay with them. If you quit before the end of the year you don't get your insentive pay.


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

Ron The Plumber said:


> BS, you give out a bonus cause your employees make you money, let them spent it the way they want. :furious:
> 
> Maybe they would rather get diapers for there kid/s, food in there mouths, cost of living may not seem bad for you, but for those that work for you it can get tight.
> 
> Your not a dictator.


well, he wouldn't have to give them a penny...nada, nothing he's already compensated them for the hours that they've worked, now he wants to give them a gift.


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## kauser667 (Apr 10, 2007)

One week pay for our guys. If they worked a full year or based off the months worked,


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## excellencee (Feb 1, 2007)

I don't have employees currently, but a plumber friend has his guys save all the copper scraps for the year. He scraps it right before Christmas and the guys split the cash.


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## SelfContract (Dec 6, 2007)

Every year end, I think every employer/boss should take their employees out for a special lunch or throw a little party for the appreciation of their hard works. I am sure every employee will feel better about their boss/supervisor this way too. It is a Xmas holiday spirit around the holiday seasons too. :thumbsup::thumbup:


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## SelfContract (Dec 6, 2007)

Ron The Plumber said:


> BS, you give out a bonus cause your employees make you money, let them spent it the way they want. :furious:
> 
> Maybe they would rather get diapers for there kid/s, food in there mouths, cost of living may not seem bad for you, but for those that work for you it can get tight.
> 
> Your not a dictator.


 

It is funny that most of the times, it is not the employee desire for cash bonus, but rather his wife or family members often expect or ask him if he should get any cash bonus this year so to spend/buy stuffs on holiday. So, there you go... it is the employee's family that makes cash decision for them to buy too. :thumbup:


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## Ron The Plumber (Oct 10, 2006)

dayexco said:


> well, he wouldn't have to give them a penny...nada, nothing he's already compensated them for the hours that they've worked, now he wants to give them a gift.


Then give the gift, and not a gift card just so you can dictate how they can spend it. That's wrong.

Suppose he even wanted to see the receipts for what they got.


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## RCPainting (Jan 29, 2006)

TaitINC said:


> we give our guys a few things. We have a holiday party where we give out full company apparel, week paid, bonus, and a drawing for tools. everyone gets some kind of tool, from saws to inpulse guns to an extra week vacation that they can take sometime over the next year. The week paid is done by average hours. we take their total hours worked over the year and figure out their average hours worked per week. whatever their average hours are is what that paid week is for.
> 
> spencer


I like this attitude:thumbsup: That is where hope to be in a few years. I believe it is important to take care of your employees and their familes.
I do try to show my appreciation all year with "tips", golf days during the week and such.
Thanks


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## camaroman2125 (Apr 13, 2006)

Its just me and my Partner now so no employee's, but the company I worked for when I first wanted to go into painting would just take your last check before christmas and double it and thats what ya got. So if you worked 40 hours the week before christmas at 9 dollars/hour you got 720 bucks.


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

Ron The Plumber said:


> Then give the gift, and not a gift card just so you can dictate how they can spend it. That's wrong.
> 
> Suppose he even wanted to see the receipts for what they got.



gee, don't be so cynical...he wants to give a gift for God's sakes.
if i am giving the "gift"...i can give whatever i want. gift card, cash, diapers, fruitcake even. you imply that this is an entitlement...remember, it's a "gift". something he doesn't have to give!


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## Fence & Deck (Jan 23, 2006)

Every year we used to have a big party with the crews, their helpers, and their wives. 4 years ago, the bar bill alone was $1400 (we had 35 people at the party). LAst year we rented a party room at my in-laws' building and had a pot luck dinner. Some of the guys brought really inventive, delicious, or expensive food, while some were less.....generous. One fellow broguth a box of cookies.
Then I had awards made up at a trophy shop: best truck, best deck, worst excuses for missing work, highest medical bills on our plan, best looking car (I won that), most anal carpenter, biggest complainer, worst hard luck story, worker I'm most proud of, that sort of thing. Everyone got a bonus, ranging from $100 to $250.00

This year I'm unbeleivably tight for cash flow (got a couple of large jobs that haven't paid yet), so no party. I will be giving bonuses.


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## Mud Master (Feb 26, 2007)

We have a Christmas Party at a designated location. We send out the invitations in each employees paycheck envelope a week BEFORE thanksgiving so we can get a head count to include themselves & thier family. For the most part everyone comes(Roughly 80-90) but this way I have plenty of time to reserve a site, and decide if I want a buffet style or a selection style. We include everything except alcohol. If I was smaller I might but I am not financing 104 mens & womens thirst for alcohol so it is cash bar.

At the party we give out the christmas bonuses, which for all field personnel is equal to thier weekly paycheck(EX: $1000.00/wk x 2=$2000.00). For my employees that work piece they get paid $550.00 for a bonus.

Now, with that said I have a couple guys that I take care of a lil' better, you can call it playing favorites but hear me out. My PM has been with me since I was doing basements as side work years back, working 8 hours a day at his job, than working with me til' 10 at night, everynight. Than coming to work for me & working 12-14 hours a day 7 days a week during the first year or so when I was busting my ass attempting to make a name for myself. Not to mention going out of his way to put my business card anywhere he thought it would attract the customers I was trying to get. Oh, how about those weeks when I was starting that I did not have the money to pay him? Did he even blink an eye in anger or think about leaving? absolutley not. He stuck with me through thick & thin, because one he is a great friend & two because he is a (overly)dedicated employee. He still to this day will put in any extra hours it takes to keep a project running smoothly.

This year he will be getting $3,500.00 from me.

Second is my office manager, who puts up with more bull than any one man or woman should have to. She handles all the accounting, health insurance, employee relations, production meetings, general office duties & all disputes as well as oversee two other secretaries. I don't know what I would do without that woman. Again, all without thinking twice about it.

She will be getting $2,000.00 this year.

Every single employee is crucial to the success of any contractor, but there are those who have stuck it out way before there was any success. Than there are those who make more effort than anyone else to see that success through regardless of the hours, patience & strength it takes. They are ALSO the people who would not give a damn if you didn't give them one cent, they would still be as loyal as ever.

To me, they are worth a lil more out of pocket.


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## RooferJim (Mar 6, 2006)

I give out a gift certificate to a nice resturaunt and also give them about a weeks pay in cash in a card. top guy is $2000 this year for a bonus, others around a thousand and down.


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## jlomama (Feb 13, 2007)

We took our employees and their families out to dinner plus we gave them cash. We gave each of them a full day of pay and a card letting them know how much we appreciate them!:santa:


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

Currently I am giving the guys an arbitrary gift. A bottle of their favorite beverage (the party macks that comes with glasses) and various gift cards. I think this year I will give gas cards. I am going to pick everything up today when the liquor stores open and pass them out with the pay checks.

However next year rather than the gift cards, I plan to give some form of profit sharing plan. No profit no bonus! Big profit big bonus. I haven't worked out all the details but have consulted a few guys who have similair plans and they say it works fine.


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## bookie (Oct 24, 2007)

My carpenter guy has 5 employees. He gives gift cards. I just called them & asked what they wanted. Single guy wanted gas cards, the guy with 4 kids wanted Toys R Us, etc. They ranged from $100 to $500. They also all got a $50 gift certificate to dinner at a nice local place (which I bought in volume for $35 each by the way!:thumbup. Kinda takes the sting out of being laid off over the holidays & into January, having something nice to do.

No writeoff for the carpenter, but he doesn't mind. Those guys keep him in the black all year. He feels close to them, he wants their gift to be personally from him, you know? Also, if a guy gets into $$ trouble during the year, he won't "lend" money, but he will give gift cards for the grocery store, etc. He doesn't expect those to be paid back, we keep a little stash of them. I guess it costs him around $100 a month year-round.

bookie


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