site.btaFour in Five Companies Plan on Giving Christmas Bonuses to Employees

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has carried out an express poll into Christmas bonuses. Between December 2 and 7 a total of 100 branch organizations and enterprises from the sector of services, construction and commerce were polled, the Chamber said on Thursday. 

The findings suggested that despite the COVID crisis having significantly changed the economic environment and the way of incentivizing, the majority of Bulgarian companies plan to give Christmas bonuses, at 82.5% in 2022 compared with 83% in 2021. In 2020, 60% of entrepreneurs said that they would be able to pay Christmas bonuses.

Some 13% of companies say that they don't plan on giving out Christmas bonuses due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine and because of that they will increase wages in 2023. Some 3% of Bulgarian managers are still undecided whether they will give out Christmas bonuses to employees. 

Some 42% of Bulgarian entrepreneurs plan to give Christmas bonuses to their employees because they want to motivate them and retain them. Another 40% of managers say that they are motivated by the coming holidays. For 33% of managers, the financial conditions of the company allows for payment of bonuses.

The amount of the Christmas bonus varies, with 36% of up to BGN 200. Some 25% of managers plan to give out between BGN 200 and 500, and 23% of manages will give out between BGN 500 and 1,000.

Some 14% of employees can expect a Christmas bonus of over BGN 1,000.