In the Great Resignation that began during the pandemic era, it seems that staying loyal to a company has its benefits.
In particular, some eligible employees who stuck it out with Singapore Airlines (SIA) throughout the rough COVID-19 times are now reaping the rewards of their loyalty.
Here’s why we say so.
SIA Announces Bonuses of up to 8 Months for Employees
Earlier this week, the SIA Group announced that it made a record annual profit of around $2.16 billion for FY2022/2023.
You read that right, $2.16 billion.
This marked SIA Group’s strong rebound from three straight years of losses, owing primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw countries around the world closing their borders and international travel practically grinding to a halt.
The rebound, fuelled by resuming leisure and business travel, is not just good news for the SIA Group itself.
Employees are also enjoying the benefits of the group’s revival. Earlier today, SIA announced that eligible employees could stand to receive up to eight months’ bonus. That’s three-quarters of a year’s salary!
Huat ah!
This eight-month figure comes from adding together 6.65 months’ profit sharing bonus as well as 1.5 months of ex-gratia bonus.
The ex-gratia bonus comes from 0.5 months of ex-gratia bonus for each of the last three financial years. According to SIA representatives speaking to Channel News Asia, senior management will not receive this ex-gratia bonus.
For those who are unfamiliar, ex-gratia bonuses are generally offered by the company out of goodwill rather than legal requirements. Profit-sharing bonuses are typically not required by law either but rather governed by the individual employment contracts each employee has with the company. Therefore, if the employment contract states that the employee is entitled to a one-month bonus for each year worked, the company is legally obliged to pay that amount to the employee.
According to AsiaOne, those who attended the SIA Group’s annual business meeting and were made aware of the profits that SIA would be sharing with employees as bonuses cheered in delight.
We have to say that we’ll have done the same if we were present at the meeting. Does anyone know if SIA is hiring?
This cry of joy is a clear expression of SIA’s employees’ joy after slogging it out through the pandemic. Indeed, an employee who spoke with AsiaOne mentioned that this bonus was “well-deserved” and that he was “glad to know that his hard work paid off”.
For those who were planning to throw in their resignation letter, do take note to time your resignation properly or risk missing out on your “free money”, as this unlucky ex-employee did.
