Bank of Ireland plans staff bonuses of up €20,000 from 2024

Bank of Ireland said on Friday that it will introduce a staff bonus scheme next year based on the performance of the company and individuals, with maximum awards set at 10 per cent of an employee’s salary, and capped at €20,000.

The maximum level is in line with the limit set by the Government late last year when it allowed for the return of bonuses across bailed-out Irish banks for the first time since the financial crisis. Bank of Ireland is the first of the three remaining domestic banks to outline its plans.

The bank also said it will also make a further cost-of-living payment to most of its staff in April, amounting to €720 to employees in the Republic and £940 (€1,067) for UK-based staff, and award a further 1.5 per cent pay increase for lower-ranking staff in June, bringing the total increase for these employees this year to 5 per cent.

It is also introducing an annual personal benefits allowance of €200 for these staff, who rank in the lower three bands of a seven-grade pay structure, including the group executive committee at the top.

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“We made a cost-of-living payment in 2022, but recognise that cost-of-living concerns have persisted into 2023,” said Matt Elliott, chief people officer at Bank of Ireland. “Therefore, we have proactively engaged with employee representative bodies on a number of pay enhancements to the previously-agreed arrangement for this year. This should alleviate some of the pressures which colleagues are experiencing currently.

“Looking to the future, and as a fully privately owned company, we also want to use an element of performance-related pay to attract and retain the people we need to deliver great outcomes for customers and grow our business. This is normal business practice, and our new profit share scheme will allow us to compete on a more level playing field with a wide range of other employers.”

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The Government also lifted a €500,000 executive pay cap on Bank of Ireland executives late last year, after it sold its remaining shares in the lender. Chief executive Myles O’Grady, who took charge in November, was already on a package of €960,000, as successive ministers for finance had allowed the bank to pay its top executive more than those in the other banks as it had avoided falling under State control during the financial crisis.

A spokesman for Bank of Ireland declined to comment when asked by The Irish Times about the plans for senior executive pay in light of the lifting of the restriction. The Financial Services Union (FSU) described the agreement as “just reward” for staff at the bank.

“The FSU was instrumental in getting the Government to lift the restriction on variable pay up to €20,000,” said general secretary John O’Connell.

“We have been in negotiations with the bank since then on what the scheme will look like, with our priorities to ensure that the scheme is fair, transparent, and treats staff at all levels equally.”