16

IT.—  PRIVATE  FIRMS  AND  COMPANIES.

Ratio  of  Bonus  to  Wages.
Detailed  Tables  with  regard  to  the  proportionate  addition  made
to  wages  by  the  profit-sharing  bonus  in  the  case  of  those  firms
which  have  supplied  the  information  are  given  in  Appendix  E
(pp.  126  and  127),  from  which  the  following  summary  has  been
prepared.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  average  ratio  of  bonus  to
wages  for  the  period  1901-1911  is  5'5  per  cent,  and  that  the
ratios  varied  during  this  period  from  7'1  per  cent,  in  1906  to
4'5  per  cent,  in  1908,  since  which  year  they  have  shown  a  progressive ­
  increase  up  to  5'5  per  cent,  in  1911.

Year.

Number
of
Distributions. ­


Number
of
Employees.

Number
of
Participants.

Average  Bonus,
taking  into  account
the  number  of
Participants  in  each
case.

1901

54

19,435

11,816

5-0

1902

53

20,321

12,343

5-9

1903

50

20,282

13,067

6-8

1904

52

38,009

16,341

6-5

1905

52

42,283

16,942

6-5

1906

58

41,294

17,922

7-1

1907

55

42,082

18,921

6-0

1908

62

56,738

34,059

4-5

1909

71

61,762

38,881

4-8

1910

86

77,374

50,461

5-0

1911

100

82,659

51,443

5-5

Average  Bonus
for  1901-11.

5 - 5  per  cent,  on  Wages.

B.—ANALYSIS  OF  SCHEMES  NOW  IN  FORCE.
An  analysis  has  been  made  of  the  schemes  of  Profit-sharing
at  present  in  force  with  a  view  to  classifying  and  comparing  their
principal  features.  The  results  of  this  analysis  are  stated  below,
the  references  to  the  various  schemes  being  given  by  means  of
numbers,  the  kev  to  which  is  contained  in  Appendix  A  (pp.  95-101).

Legal  Contract  or  Gratuity.
Most  of  the  schemes  make  no  express  reference  to  the  question
whether  the  arrangement  is  a  voluntary  one  or  a  strict  legal
contract.  It  is  found  that  in  a  few  instances( a )  only  is  the  share
in  profits  allotted  to  employees  given  to  them  as  a  matter  of  strict
legal  right.  In  some  instances( b )  it  is  declared  to  be  given
gratuitously  or  as  a  voluntary  payment,  one  firm  (No.  11)  describing ­
  it  as  “  an  act  of  grace.”  A  few  companies(°)  expressly
state  that  their  profit-sharing  schemes  confer  no  legal  rights  on
employees.

(“)  Nos.  3,  7,  49.  103.  (")  Nos.  11,14,  25,  27,  29,  31,40,  41,  125,  130
(»)  Nos.  20,  29,  31,  42,  44,  92.