Y2K windfall for IT staff

Nearly half of all IT managers in the UK have implemented or are considering year 2000 cash bonuses for their staff.

Research by MCG Consulting shows that 17% of major IT departments are introducing bonuses or already have them in place. A further 31%, concentrated in the City and in Scotland, are considering the idea.

The largest bonus was 150% of the recipient?s annual salary. The median was about 40%.

Financial institutions were most likely to introduce bonus schemes, while public sector bodies were the least interested. Companies introducing bonuses include Guardian Insurance and Scottish Provident. A representative of Scottish Provident said the bonus was not purely millennium-related.

MCG?s Malcolm Stuart said: ?Companies have said it?s not an issue and then come back saying: ?My god, we should be doing this.?? He added that companies should link bonuses to objectives, rather than use them to keep people in place to ensure the millennium bug is fixed.

Stuart was speaking at a conference on compensation and reward strategies for technology employees, which was jointly sponsored by Computing and recruitment agency Harvey Nash.