Bumper bonus year for city HR professionals

Bumper bonus year for city HR professionals

HR bonuses boosted to £1.5bn for city professionals

Average HR bonus in 2010 was 18%

HR bonus now £9,800 per HR professional in the city

HR incomes in 2010 were 12% higher than in 2009

HR professionals’ incomes rose by 12% in 2010 according to research by HR recruiter Ortus, who polled almost 900 professionals in the second half of last year.

The increases were fuelled by higher than expected bonus payments as 2010 proved to be a bumper bonus year in HR. £9,800 was paid this year in bonuses for every HR worker in the city and the south-east, as the average bonus reached 18% of salary. This outstrips expectations set in mid 2010 when HR workers expected to receive only 13.5%. This means that each HR worker received on average £2,500 more than they had hoped for at the beginning of the year.

The total bonus payout to the UK’s 148,000[i] HR professionals for 2010 was £1.5bn. In 2009 the total bonus payout was just under £680m, less than half the sum paid out this year.

Stephen Menko, UK Director for Ortus, said: “HR departments are a bellweather for the economy. It’s good news for everyone that they are beginning to get busy again, as companies are beginning to compete for talent once more.

“Bonus expectations have been modest since the beginning of the recession, as many professionals were concerned more about job security than pay, but these figures show that this is changing. HR professionals are plugged into the jobs market and it is not surprising that they are looking for opportunities. For many, bonus season may be the time to cash in and move on to pastures new.”