Contract Negotiation Part III

[TravisRADMD]

Is it typical for "signing bonus" to be withheld and not distributed until official start date?

[GoBlueMD]

We give ours a couple weeks after signing. Allows the rad a chance to put a down payment on a home before starting. Or spend it on whatever.

To have to bonus when you start is a little late to me.

[mjohnson]

I received half when I signed and the other half when I started.

[q-school]

i've seen it but would not describe it as typical.

i've also had people decide not to come after cashing the check.  there is some cost to undo these things, especially if decision to undo is made in different year than when check was cashed.  perhaps the offering organization has been burned in the past.

 

[Peds]

What did they tell you? What does your contract say?

[ZZZ]

It's not a singing bonus if you don't get it when you sign.

One more thing that's negotiable.

[Michael Scarn]

You sign, they send. Otherwise, it may be called a starting or commencement bonus. Contract should specify.

[childay]

Mine was half on start, and half at 1 year.

[Zaphod]

Got mine after credentialing which was dang near start date, kind of annoying but I can see the rationale.

[Curious George]

I received half when I signed and half 30 days before the official start date.

HOWEVER, looking back, I would have actually preferred receiving the whole thing with my first paycheck for the following reasons:

1. I didn’t really need the money for anything in particular 6 months before I started. I ended up waiting until I received both halves and sending it all to the student loan company anyway.

2. They paid out the two halves as 1099 income instead of W2, resulting in me having to pay payroll taxes that would have otherwise been covered (partially) by the employer.

3. I moved to a different state for this job and received the two halves during two separate calendar years. This resulted extra hassle when filing taxes.

Again, if you don’t need the money right away, consider accepting it as a commencement bonus with your first W2 paycheck.

[TravisRADMD]

So they accommodated 50:50 distribution. Half 30 days before and half at start. I need the cash so this was very helpful.