T
The Daily Insight

What does employee discretionary mean?

Author

Ava Robinson

Published Apr 10, 2026

A discretionary bonus is extra pay that a company agrees to provide to an employee for specific or unexpected situations. These cash payments are not part of the employee’s contract, and the employee should not expect to receive the bonus regularly.

What is discretionary versus non discretionary?

Discretionary versus Non-Discretionary Investment Accounts Simply put, a discretionary account is one in which a broker makes trades, buying or selling securities, in an investor’s account without the investor’s approval. A non-discretionary account is one in which the investor decides on what trades to make.

What does discretionary payment mean?

Discretionary Payments means any payments or distributions, other than dividends, that are within the discretion of the financial service provider to make and, if not paid by the financial service provider, are not an event of default, including staff bonuses; Sample 1.

What are examples of discretionary bonuses?

Examples of discretionary activity for a referral bonus:

  • The employee has participated in the program voluntarily.
  • The employee’s recruitment efforts don’t require significant amounts of the employee’s time.
  • The activity only occurs after-hours among friends, family, neighbors and acquaintances.

Is a Christmas bonus discretionary?

Under the FLSA, an employee’s regular rate of pay is based on the total compensation for hours worked. The Department of Labor Regulations note that a one-time holiday bonus of two weeks’ salary for all employees would be a discretionary bonus, as long as it wasn’t given pursuant to a prior agreement.

What are discretionary benefits?

Discretionary benefits are employment benefits that are not mandated by law. They can include a range of employee benefits, such as health insurance, sick leave, maternity leave, vacation leave, pension plans, life insurance, and prescription drug insurance.

What is considered a non-discretionary bonus?

A non-discretionary bonus is a bonus that must be paid out if certain criteria are met. It’s a bonus that is announced and established ahead of time. For example, employees might be told that if they have 100% attendance over a certain period of time, they will receive an attendance bonus.

What is the difference between discretionary and non-discretionary expenses?

While non-discretionary expenses are considered mandatory—housing, taxes, debt, and groceries—discretionary expenses are any costs incurred above and beyond what is deemed necessary. These are generally considered wants, while non-discretionary expenses are usually referred to as needs.

How do I claim my discretionary payment?

To make a claim contact your local authority and ask for more details about Discretionary Housing Payment. Each council has their own form. Typically they will ask for details about your household circumstances, why you are unable to meet your rent or Council Tax payments and for details of your income and spending.

Who qualifies for discretionary housing payments?

You can only get it if you are entitled to Housing Benefit or the Housing Costs element of Universal Credit. It is available to people who are not receiving enough to cover their rent. There can be several reasons for this, for example: your Local Housing Allowance is lower than your rent in private rented property.

What are non-discretionary bonuses?

A bonus is nondiscretionary if the employer has created an expectation of payment and is no longer free to determine the timing or amount of payment without breaching legal or contractual agreements with its employees. Nondiscretionary bonuses are often based on employee or group performance.

How is non discretionary bonus calculated?

To calculate the additional overtime owed to an employee who earns a non-discretionary flat-sum bonus the employer must divide the employee’s bonus by the number of non-overtime hours worked by the employee within the bonus period. The bonus period is the time frame in which the bonus is earned.

What is a discretionary bonus scheme?

Most bonus schemes are expressed to be discretionary. This means that bonus entitlements are not contractual and the requirements for awarding a bonus are flexible. Such schemes will usually include criteria, such as reaching individual, team or company wide targets for determining the amount of the bonus.

What are the best discretionary benefits?

Next, I would eliminate paid-time-off because the last three discretionary benefits will have a more direct impact on employee satisfaction and company culture. The top three most important discretionary benefits, in my opinion, are Employee Assistant Programs (EAPs), Disability and Life insurance, and retirement.

How is non-discretionary bonus calculated?

What is an example of discretionary?

Discretionary expenses are often defined as nonessential spending. This means a business or household is still able to maintain itself even if all discretionary consumer spending stops. Meals at restaurants and entertainment costs are examples of discretionary expenses.

Is DHP a one-off payment?

DHPs can be awarded as a one-off payment or series of payments. To get a DHP you must be paying rent and be getting Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs. As DHPs are paid from a limited budget, each request is considered on its own merits.

Is DHP a one off payment?

A discretionary bonus is one given at the sole discretion of the employer and is not expected by the employee. The key to discretionary bonuses is that the employer has not set an expectation that a bonus will be paid if certain goals are met and the amount and timing of the bonus are not given in advance.

What is discretionary or non-discretionary?

What is discretionary performance?

“Discretionary effort is the level of effort people could give if they wanted to, but above and beyond the minimum required.” —Aubrey C. Daniels, Ph. D. Many organizations manage performance in such a way that motivates employees to do only enough to get by and avoid getting in trouble (negative reinforcement).

What is the difference between a discretionary and a non-discretionary bonus?

Discretionary bonuses are often paid as an annual reward to employees following a successful year. Employees feel rewarded and valued by your organisation. Non-discretionary bonuses are paid on an agreed schedule, when employees hit a defined target.

Is a performance bonus discretionary?

Bonus pay recognizes performance in a discretionary way after it’s been demonstrated.” A non-discretionary bonus or incentive payment, on the other hand, is based on standards that have to be met in order to receive such payment. These requirements are determined at the outset of the payment period.

What is considered non-discretionary bonus?

A nondiscretionary bonus is a bonus that fails to meet the statutory requirements of a discretionary bonus. Nondiscretionary bonuses are included in the regular rate of pay, unless they qualify as excludable under another statutory provision (see below).

Why did I get a discretionary bonus?

Discretionary bonuses are often used to reward exceptional performance, contribution, or accomplishment that goes above and beyond the employee’s usual realm of job duties. Many companies choose to give discretionary bonuses once or twice per year, but are under no obligation to do so by law.

Who has discretionary power?

Professor Harold Laski has defined discretionary power as that authority of the executive « whether in matters of sub- stance or of procedure or both, which it is free to exercise as it thinks fit ». *1 Legally, it is the power to exercise a discre- ‘ tion with which the courts cannot interfere.

Do you have to be an active employee to get a discretionary bonus?

In any event, you must be an active employee of the Company on the date any bonus is distributed in order to be eligible for and to earn any such bonus award, as it also serves as an incentive to remain employed by the Company. Discretionary Bonus.

Is it legal for an employer to use discretion?

However, case law has made it clear that employers must not use their discretion in an irrational or perverse way. It is common for bonuses to be a mixture of the two.

What does the ESA say about discretionary bonuses?

Section 1 (1) [of the ESA] defines wages as “monetary remuneration payable by an employer to an employee under the terms of an employment contract,” but does not include “sums paid as gifts or bonuses that are dependent on the discretion of the employer and that are not related to hours, production or efficiency”.

Who was entitled to a discretionary bonus at UBS?

That is very different than the evidence about the nature of the bonus Bain was entitled to at UBS. While the bonus was discretionary, there were definite factors on which it was based, including performance.