Seeking advice: does a "zero bonus" hint under-performance?

Question

Hi experts, I'd really appreciate your suggestion. After rounds of interviews, I finally got the offer, but now I need to provide my “salary proof".

The twist is that the company does not know that I have left the firm, and I was “counseled out” and thus got zero bonus. Can you help me with 2 questions please:

If I say that the bonus was zero due to the company's underperformance (which is true - we had firm-wide unpaid leave), would this be skeptical? Is it common that consulting firms do not give out any bonus if the company is struggling / underperforming?
I'm planning to give the salary proof of my “first 3 months” after I joined. The rationale is (1) The company only needs 3-month proof (2) I can say the later months were impacted by tax factors, e.g. after tax amount fluctuates every month. Is this appropriate? Or, can I propose to show them the offer letter with the monthly base salary on it?

Answer 1

Hi,

show them the offer letter. Don’t try to rationalize anything regarding tax deductions - they probably know more about that than you since they are paying their employees too.

Bonus is usually low in bad business years - zero bonus is very bad for morale so consulting firms try to avoid such a drastic measure if they can. However, your contract would only state a bonus range since it’s never guaranteed.
So don’t go into the nitty-gritty trying to justify everything. Offer letter plus your first 3 months should suffice.

Best of luck

Answer 2

Hi there!

To simplify all of this, I'd show them the offer letter or your contract.

They only need a high-level understanding of your salary, they don't need exact numbers. So I wouldn't lead the discussion anywhere that makes it difficult to navigate.

Best,
Cristian

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Answer 3

Hi there,

Completely agree - show the offer letter.

Or, you can show recent payslip.

Please don't worry…you're massively overthinking this and they are not going to notice a bonus of lack thereof!

Give the most recent 3-month payslip that shows full pay….please don't give the 1st 3 months.

Answer 4

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offer! In terms of your questions:

1) If I say that the bonus was zero due to the company's underperformance (which is true - we had firm-wide unpaid leave), would this be skeptical?

I don’t see why you should comment on the bonus, unless they ask. If they do ask, the important thing is that you don’t lie. So if the bonus was zero due to the company situation, that’s fine to say.

2) I'm planning to give the salary proof of my “first 3 months” after I joined. Is this appropriate? Can I propose to show them the offer letter with the monthly base salary on it?

It depends on what they ask you. If they just need proof of monthly salary, you can share the relevant page in the contract. If they need the payslip, you can send 3 full-month salary payslips for this year.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 5

Hello,

It's not common for companies to ask about your bonus. If they do for some reason, they're not going to need you to get too specific. As long as you don't lie about anything, you should be fine. So I think attributing the bonus to the company's underperformance sounds like an appropriate way to go.

Regarding proof of salary, it's ok to just show them your contract or a 3 month payslip. I don't think they'll need to dive into details beyond that.