Job board bosses are split over whether a jump in the amount paid out to UK workers in bonuses is good news for firms seeking to attract staff.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data for the 2014/15 financial year, published this morning, reveals bonuses paid out across the entire UK economy amounted to £42.4bn – up 2.7% on the previous year. 

According to job board CV-Library’s data, 10.2% of the 125,426 jobs advertised on its site have a bonus scheme attached to them.

Commenting on the ONS findings, Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said in a statement: “Bonus schemes are a proven way of incentivising and motivating staff, which has a significant impact on individuals and teams exceeding broader company goals, further contributing to business success and growth. 

“Well-structured bonus schemes are also a great way of attracting new talent to an organisation, which is important in today’s competitive job market,” he added.

But Andrew Hunter, co-founder of job board Adzuna, says in a statement the data signifies that companies are clinging on to the skilled workers they already have, rather than bringing in new talent at the top. 

“By boosting the salaries of their existing staff, employers have less money in the bank for recruitment,” he said. “This means the jobs market focus has shifted from recruitment to retention.”

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