Staff Bonus Scheme

The 2026 Staff Bonus Scheme is now open for nominations and remains open until Thursday 30 April 2026. 

Managers may put forward nominations to recognise colleagues who have demonstrated exceptional contributions in line with our values. Self‑nominations and team bonus awards do not form part of this year’s scheme.

A one‑off bonus payment is available to all colleagues with a minimum of six months’ service for those who have excelled for the duration of the performance review period; evidence of which will have been gathered by line managers during ongoing performance and development conversations with their team members.

Pay increments may be awarded to colleagues in Professional, Technical, and Research grades 1–7 who are no longer eligible for automatic increments and have completed at least one year of service. This is for colleagues who have made an outstanding contribution, at a level above their usual role expectations, for more than one year and on an ongoing basis.

We expect to receive nominations for the top 10% of those colleagues who are eligible to be nominated under this scheme. This 10% applies across the whole pool of eligible colleagues and includes both one-off bonuses and pay increments. Line managers should discuss the evidence with their own line management if they consider more staff members in their team/area should be nominated.

Please note that for staff in Professional, Technical, and Research grades 1–7:

• Those who are below the top of the automatic increment zone may be nominated to receive a one-off bonus (which would be in addition to receiving their automatic increment)
• Those who are at the top of the automatic increment zone or beyond may be nominated for EITHER a one-off bonus OR a pay increment

To qualify for this year’s bonus scheme, staff must have completed and be up to date with all their mandatory training modules. Further details about Queen Mary’s mandatory training are in the CPD training site and on the mandatory training page. If you are a manager, you can view your direct reports' mandatory training completion in CPD training under "Reports" or for individuals under "Team Dashboard."

The guidance notes (including the criteria for a one-off bonus and a pay increment) and application form are available below.  

2026 Staff Bonus Scheme guidelines [PDF 389KB]

Staff Bonus Scheme – Fill out form

Should you have any questions about the application process please email the Reward and Benefits team at rewardandbenefits@qmul.ac.uk.

Staff Bonus Scheme application forms are to be completed by the nominating line manager and submitted via the Microsoft Forms document by Thursday 30 April 2026.

The Reward and Benefits team will collate and share the relevant nominations with each Head of School / Institute Director / PS Director / FDO by Friday 8 May 2026. Heads / Directors will then review the nominations for their areas and return the final nominations (both supported and unsupported) to the Reward and Benefits team by Friday 22 May 2026.