BT invites top staff to gamble earnings to win extra bonus for meeting targets

BT is introducing a smart bonus benefit to senior employees that will enable them to gamble up to 50% of their remuneration package and possibly gain the same amount in the form of a cash bonus.

The benefit is being rolled out as a pilot to 400 top-level employees in the UK in the BT Design and BT Global Services businesses.

Employees can elect to risk a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 50% of their basic pay, which comprises a combination of base salary, holiday and, or employer pension contributions.

Employees who meet their targets will get the amount they risked back, and if they exceed their target they can get, on a sliding scale, up to 200% of that amount as an additional bonus. If they fail to meet their targets, they forgo the proportion of salary they gambled. Existing bonuses set against a different set of objectives will not be affected.

Martin Thomas, head of recruitment at BT, said: “The smart bonus is being offered only to the top two or three professional levels within those organisations and primarily to roles in the professional services rather than functional-type roles.”

The pilot will run to April next year, at which point it will be reviewed with a view to further roll-out.

The risk and reward strategy is unlikely to be offered to all BT employees, but could be offered to other senior staff.