A payment to a firm’s employees additional to their normal pay. Bonuses may be linked to performance, of either the whole firm, a specified section of it, or the individual recipient. Bonuses provide incentives to employees, both to exert themselves and to stay with the firm rather than look for a better job elsewhere. Bonuses differ from normal pay in that there is no obligation to repeat them, and they are not pensionable. They are normally taxable.