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Employees of public-sector banks and financial institutions are entitled to get incentive bonus pro rata with performance while government ex gratia is secure regardless of failure in meeting conditions under a new rule.
Financial Institutions Division (FID) Thursday issued a notification stipulating the new document called "guidelines for payment of incentive bonus to employees working in state-owned commercial banks, scheduled specialised banks, non-scheduled specialised banks and financial institutions 2025".
Sources say the new guidelines come amid noncompliance with the old ones by the banks and financial institutions and "providing incentive bonuses at their will".
Some banks and financial institutions paid up to five incentive bonuses to their employees during the last couple of years.
The guidelines set separate criteria for the institutions and they have to meet the conditions to be eligible for providing incentive bonuses to the employees.
The state-owned commercial banks need not to take permission from the FID for granting incentive bonuses while the specialised banks and financial institutions have to seek its approval after their boards make recommendations for providing bonuses.
The board of directors of the state-owned commercial banks have to evaluate five indicators--net profit rate on working funds, deposit growth rate, loans and advances growth rate, rate of recovery from classified loans through cash and consolidation, and rate of recovery from written-off loans for granting incentive bonus to the employees.
In the case of state-owned scheduled specialised banks, also five indicators similar to the state-owned commercial banks have to be taken into consideration for granting incentive bonuses.
The board of directors of non-scheduled specialised banks will take into consideration four indicators-- net profit rate on working funds, loans and advances growth rate, rate of recovery from classified loans through cash and consolidation, and rate of recovery from written-off loans for granting incentive bonus.
Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation has to fulfil three criteria: net profit rate on working funds, annual actual recovery rate on recoverable loans, and growth rate of loans and investments.
The board of directors of the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh will evaluate five dos for granting incentive bonus to its employees. Those are: net profit rate on working funds, rates of earnings of dividend and capital gains on investment, recovery of classified loans, growth rate of ICB's transactions on the capital market, and cash- recovery rate from written-off loans.
The amount equivalent to the basic pay received in the last month of the accounting year will be considered as basis for incentive bonus.
Employees will be entitled to incentive bonus at a pro-rata rate based on their service period in the year under consideration. However, newly joined employees must have at least six months of service in the relevant year to be eligible for incentive bonuses.
Also, the employees enjoying PRL/finally retired/resigned will be entitled to bonuses on a pro-rata basis according to their service period in the relevant year. Employees of any scheduled bank will get incentive bonus in the non-scheduled specialised-bank category until they start deposit-collection activities.
"If any banks or financial institutions fail to meet the criteria, they will be ineligible for incentive bonuses." In this case, however, they can submit an application to the FID with recommendation of their board of directors.
The FID can consider paying an amount equivalent to one month's basic salary as ex gratia for employees of them, the guidelines mention.
syful-islam@outlook.com