A bonus isn't a gift — it's pay you've usually already earned by the time the argument starts. Connaught Law's bonus dispute solicitors act for employees and executives across London and the UK recovering unpaid and underpaid bonuses, commission and incentive awards — including the "discretionary" ones employers wrongly treat as optional.
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How We Can Help
"Discretionary" Bonus Disputes
Discretion is not a free pass. Courts have long held that bonus discretion must be exercised rationally and in good faith — an employer can't award zero capriciously to someone who hit every target, and a "discretionary" scheme paid consistently for years can harden into a contractual entitlement through custom and practice. The label in your contract matters far less than how the scheme actually operated.
Unpaid & Underpaid Bonuses
Where targets were met and the formula is in writing, an unpaid bonus is simply an unpaid wage — recoverable as an unlawful deduction under the Employment Rights Act 1996 or as breach of contract. Underpayment disputes turn on the numbers: how targets were measured, what the pool was, how your award compares. We get the documents that show it.
Leavers, Dismissal & Clawback
The sharpest disputes cluster around exit: "you must be employed on the payment date" clauses, good and bad leaver definitions, dismissals suspiciously timed just before bonus day, and clawback demands after payment. These clauses are enforced — but not always, and not when a dismissal was engineered to defeat an accrued entitlement. Timing and evidence decide these cases.
Commission & Incentive Schemes
The same principles govern commission plans, LTIPs, share awards and deferred incentives — schemes where the money is bigger and the drafting denser. We act on disputed commission calculations, forfeited deferred awards and scheme rule changes imposed mid-year, for employees from sales teams to the City.
Recovering Your Bonus
Two forums, two clocks. A tribunal claim for unlawful deduction must be brought within three months less one day of the missed payment, via ACAS early conciliation. A breach of contract claim in the civil courts allows six years — often the better route for large or complex bonuses. Our employment tribunal awards guide covers how tribunals deal with bonus and compensation claims in practice.
Bonus & Exit Negotiations
Bonus disputes often surface inside a bigger exit — and an accrued bonus is negotiating capital. We make sure any settlement agreement prices the bonus properly instead of waiving it in the boilerplate, and where you're still employed we press the claim without detonating the relationship.
How We Work
Bonus cases are document cases: the contract, the scheme rules, the award letters, the emails about targets, and the history of what was actually paid. We assemble that record, assess the claim's real value honestly, and pick the forum — tribunal for speed, court for size — before the first letter goes out.
Move quickly regardless: the tribunal route closes three months after the missed payment, and paper trails thin out fast once you've left. Most bonus disputes settle once the employer sees the scheme's own documents cut against them — which is usually exactly what we find.
Why Connaught Law
01Discretion, tested properly"It's discretionary" ends most conversations. It starts ours — discretion has legal limits, and we hold employers to them.
02The right forumTribunal in three months or court within six years — we pick the route that fits the money and the evidence, not the habit.
03Senior attention throughoutYour claim is run by our experienced employment team, not passed down — with direct access to the person handling it.
04Relationship-awareMany clients are still employed. We recover what's owed without burning the job you're standing in.
Fee structures and funding options are set out on our fees page — we discuss costs openly before you commit to anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my employer refuse to pay a discretionary bonus?
Only within legal limits. Discretion must be exercised rationally and in good faith — a zero award to someone who met their targets, or a scheme paid reliably for years suddenly withheld, can be challenged despite the "discretionary" label. What the scheme did in practice matters more than what the contract calls it.
I was dismissed just before my bonus was due — can I claim it?
Possibly. Payment-date clauses are generally enforceable, but a dismissal engineered to defeat an entitlement you had already earned can be attacked — through the bonus claim itself, an unfair dismissal claim, or both. The timing, the reason given and the paper trail decide it; take advice before signing anything.
How long do I have to bring a bonus claim?
Three months less one day from the missed payment for a tribunal unlawful-deduction claim, via ACAS early conciliation — or up to six years for breach of contract in the civil courts. The tribunal window closes fast; the court route survives longer but suits bigger, better-documented claims.
Is a bonus dispute worth pursuing?
Usually resolved without a hearing, and often worth more than employees assume once the scheme documents are examined. We value the claim honestly against the contract, the scheme's history and what tribunals and courts actually award — before you spend anything pursuing it.
Bonus withheld or underpaid?
Send us the contract and the scheme documents. We'll tell you what you're actually owed, which route recovers it fastest, and what it will cost — before you commit to anything.
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