Taywood still boosts Christmas pay

A Christmas bonus for employees of construction firms is almost a thing of the past. Of the major contractors contacted by CJ, only Taylor Woodrow added a twinkle to their staff's eyes with a seasonal cash boost.

The rest favour either a bonus based on the firm's annual results or nothing at all - and since the recession has barely eased, the overall result is that for many employees bonuses of any form are now a distant memory.

Taylor Woodrow's 1994 Christmas bonus was profit-related, the advantage being that part of the lump-sum is tax-free, according to a Taylor Woodrow spokesman.

There is no Christmas bonus at Raine but staff that beat their budget targets get a bonus in October. Trafalgar House takes a similar line. 'There isn't a tradition here of giving an extra at Christmas,' said a spokesman, 'but we do make a bonus payment in October.

'The bonus was 2-3% last time, in line with the rest of the industry,' he claimed.

Amec has no policy of a Christmas bonus. With a December year-end, some Amec staff get a profit-related extra in March/April when the annual figures are released.

And Tarmac has no overall policy, though for the past two years some Tarmac divisions have made bonus payments.

Following a 5% pay cut in 1993, Costain staff received a 2.5% performance-related bonus in Christmas 1993 but not this year. 'It was a one-off,' said a spokesman. 'Bonuses are a thing of the past.'

Kier makes no bonus payments, while Wimpey employees enjoy the benefits of a rewarding long-service payment scheme which provides them with an extra week's pay for each five year's service.

Several Top 20 contractors chose to keep tight-lipped about their bonus arrangements - Mowlem offered CJ a resolute 'no comment'.
A œ700 tax-free bonus was given to all JCB employees this Christmas following a 'massive growth' in machine sales during 1994.

Pulling out of recession last year, the excavator manufacturer produced 18,000 machines, some 50% more than in the previous year.

It is not the first show of generosity by the company - employees were offered œ300 each at Christmas 1993 as a 'thank you' from their employer.