Perth South council makes annual Christmas bonus for township staff policy going forward

Full-time township staff to receive $100; part-timers get $50

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In recognition of the hard work township staff put in each year, Perth South council has turned a nearly 15-year tradition of giving staff annul Christmas bonuses into a policy that will see that tradition continue without council approval going forward.

At the Dec. 2 council meeting, Perth South councillors considered formalizing the township’s practice of awarding Christmas bonuses in the amount of $100 for permanent full-time employees and $50 for permanent part-time employees into policy.

“After discussing this with Mayor (Sue) Orr, she had indicated that it’s good to maybe change our way of doing the Christmas bonus for staff so that it doesn’t have to come to every meeting each year at the end of the year,” township clerk Lizet Scott told councillors. “ … This is an item that council, since I’ve been here since 2011, has granted each year.”

Each year, council has considered and approved a staff Christmas bonus as a gesture of appreciation for municipal staff. This bonus is paid on the final pay of the year. Historically, the bonus was $50 for permanent full-time employees and $25 for permanent part-time employees, but in 2020, council increased the bonus to $100 for permanent full-time staff and $50 for permanent part-time staff.

The total budget for Christmas bonuses each year since 2020 has been $1,400.

“The point of the bonus, which I think everybody agrees on, is that staff will feel valued and stay longer, work better and speak positively,” Orr said. “It’s not the size of the bonus, it’s the message that the work is noticed.

“So, we’re not disagreeing that everybody gets this bonus, it’s just the conversation we have every year. … We’ve been doing this since before 2011 and we’ve never said no.”

Speaking in favour of the staff recommendation, Coun. Jaime Martin also noted the importance of this bonus in helping to retain staff, and suggested a formalized policy would make the process more efficient for council and staff.

Deputy mayor Bob Wilhelm and Coun. Jim Van Nes, on the other hand, noted they were a little concerned about taking the decision to award a bonus to staff each year away from future councils, with Van Nes noting he enjoys the annual conversation about how much council values staff.

Ultimately, council voted to approve a staff Christmas bonus policy.

“And Coun. Van Nes, you are quite welcome to put your comments forward (about staff) on the last day (each year),” Scott said, laughing, after council voted to approve the policy.