Bonuses: Follow the civil service's philosophy, not figures

THE received wisdom is that civil service bonuses serve as a benchmark not just for government agencies and statutory boards, but private sector firms too.

So the news that civil servants are getting a tiny year-end bonus might have caused hand wringing beyond ministry buildings. But as with all conventional wisdom, the assumption that firms will or should take a cue from the public sector is worth questioning.

For many civil servants, this December's bonus - a 0.1-month annual variable component (AVC) and a one-off lump sum of S$250 to S$1,500 - may be the smallest since 2009, when Singapore was hit by the global financial crisis. Senior civil servants in superscale grades will get even less: a one-off payment of S$400 with no AVC.