ANALYSIS OP SCHEMES NOW IN FORCE.
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24548 B 2
of the employees; others( a ) in which 5 per cent, is allotted, one( b )
of 3 per cent., another( b ) of 1| per cent., one(°) in which the share
of the employees is 2\ per cent, of the divisible profits up to a
certain sum, and 5 per cent, of the profits in excess of such sum;
the whole of the divisible profits are allotted to employees in one
case,( d ) while in another( e ) the whole of the profits from one
department are so allotted, with one-half of the remaining' profits.
It is, however, necessary to state that many of the returns contain
no information as to the percentage of profits allotted to employees
in cases where there is not known to be any “ reserved
limit.” In a few cases( f ) capital and wages share concurrently,
the bonus being at the same rate on wages as the rate of interest
received by capital.
Where the participation of employees in profits is dependent
upon the profits reaching a certain fixed amount, the proportion
of the surplus profits above this reserved limit which, so far as is
known, is appropriated to the payment of bonus varies from
5 per cent, up to 50 per cent., about one-third (») of the schemes
which fix the bonus in this way allotting the latter percentage.
(For the other percentages, see note( b ).) In one case (No. 78)
the whole of the profits above the reserved limit are allotted to
employees up to 5 per cent, on their wages. In a number of
cases) 1 ) the surplus is shared between capital and wages qyro rata,
i.e., the bonus on wages is at the same rate as the dividend on
capital; this plan being varied in the case of No. 65 by giving
half a week’s wages for every half per cent, over 5 per cent, paid
as dividend. In three cases (Nos. 63, 64, and 68) in which the
employees’ right to share in profits is conditional on the profits
reaching a certain standard, the bonus allotted is based on the
total net profits (not the surplus profits over the reserved limit),
the employees getting per cent, of such profits in the case of
No. 63, 10 to 15 per cent, (rising with the profits) in the case of
No. 640, and in the case of No. 68 a dividend on their wages
equal to one-quarter of the rate of dividend paid to ordinary
shareholders.
With regard to the division of the total bonus fund among the
different employees, by far the most common method adopted is
to divide this fund between the participants in proportion to the
amount which each has earned in the period to which the distribution
relates; but in making the calculation overtime is excluded
in a few schemes( k ), overtime and piecework in a consider-(“)
Nos. 50, 70 (may vary to 6 per cent.) 71, and one anonymous case.
( b ) Anonymous. (°) No. 130. ( a ) No. 37. ( c ) No. 3. ( f ) Nos. 36, 48, 54.
(s) Nos. 19, 25, 35, 49, 66, 112, 131 ; in the case of No. 61 the directors and
employees share between them half the surplus profits.
( h ) The percentage is 33^ for No. 6 ; 25 for Nos. 5, 16, 27, 120 ; 20 for Nos
14, 76 ; 16§ for No. 81 ; and 5 for Nos. 26, 40, and an anonymous case ; in the
case of No. 125 the amount given to employees is equivalent to 15 per cent,
of the dividends paid to shareholders in excess of 10 per cent.
0 Nos. 43, 51, 73, 87, 88, 92, 115, 117.
0 There is a further provision that “ the amount to be distributed must not
bring the profit remaining below the figure it would have stood at, if the lower
percentage had been calculated on the highest amount to which the lower
percentage applied.”
( k ) Nos. 5, 23, 26, 53, 86, 94,
