2 year bonus clawback

Anyone has experience. About to sign a contract, but there is a clawback option for the bonus if you do not complete your 2 years as an analyst. 

Do companies really go after that? I mean, I could understand it when it comes to a signing bonus within the first 3 months but a full first years' bonus? 

Also, what happens to your tax? Obv. you get some 60-70% of your bonus, do they expect you to pay back 100%? 

Please enlighten me here monkeys of WSO

28 Comments
 

Signing/relocation full clawback isn’t unusual. Otherwise you could move to SF for free, and live off of signing for a few months until you find a new gig to mysteriously disappear from.

 

Usually no, but depends on firm and what you are fired for. Most reasonable contract will (mostly for legal reasons) balance protecting you so you don’t get screwed (you move across the country and get fired, and company wants the money) and the company (you move across the country, take the money, and quit). But if you mean fired “for cause” (you punch your MD) vs laid off/cut due to budget then they can try and get that back, but usually will only go after large amounts. 

 

Yes likely they will clawback unless you leave for a job where they don't want to upset you (e.g. you go to corp dev for a client after 1.5 years because you liked working with them on some deal in your first year)

You'll pay back 100%, and then the following April when you file your taxes you will get the tax that was withheld (~40%) on the bonus back in your refund. So you'll run a cash loss for the months in between

 

Seems like an excessive clawback. For signing bonuses/relocation I think clawback is reasonable, but not at 2 years. From experience, a 1-year clawback with decreasing % owed each month feels fair. By 6-months, if you left you would only owe 50% (or however it was exactly done) if you left. Not that it's a deal breaker, but something to consider I guess

 
Most Helpful

Clawback on anything other than signing bonus is not market. 

Send it back to HR with a redline scratching out the provision. Provide them both with a redline copy of the contract along with a clean version with your signature accompanied with an email stating you made an amendment to the contract as shown in the redline version, and that there is a clean version attached as well with your signature if changes are agreeable. If you are getting a signing bonus, you could also just make an amendment to the contract to only be applicable to the signing bonus which would specify things if the contract is just overly vague as currently written. 

This approach could play out a couple ways, they could not really care or notice and accept it, tell you they are not accepting the changes, or worst case scenario rescind your offer.

 

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