Pursuant to Art. 105 of the Labor Code, to employees who, by exemplary performance of their duties, showing initiative at work and increasing its efficiency, and quality contribute especially to the performance of the plant’s tasks, they can be awarded prizes and distinctions. The award is therefore „an exceptional benefit, which may be awarded for what goes beyond the catalog of activities to which the employee undertook when entering into an employment relationship, i.e. for what exceeds his (ordinary) duties” (Judgment of the Supreme Court of 5 December 2016 year, file reference number III PK 30/16). Following the above-mentioned the judgment should indicate that „awards may be granted to an employee only for extraordinary performance of official duties, and not for” normally „performed work. By their nature, awards cannot therefore apply to all or more of the employees of a given employer, and therefore a commonly used practice deviating from the rule expressed in Art. 105 of the Labor Code, consisting in the wide use of rewards, „discretionary” or „bonuses” discretionary „should not be approved (yes, justification of the Court’s resolution Supreme Court of 27 March 2007, II PZP 3/07, OSNP 2007 No. 17-18, item 243) „.
The statutory bonus is not described in the Labor Code. It is an additional element of remuneration that is to motivate the employee to work better and more efficiently. The conditions for granting the statutory bonus are clearly defined in the regulations or in the employment contract. These conditions must be based on objective criteria and their fulfillment is tantamount to receiving a statutory bonus by the employee.
The difference between the statutory bonus and the discretionary bonus lies in the fact that their receipt is based on various criteria included in different sources of labor law. The discretionary award is therefore based on subjective criteria and depends on the discretion of the employer. The employee is not entitled to the payment of such a bonus (resolution of the Supreme Court of 30 July 1986, file reference number III PZP 47/86). The bonus, on the other hand, is one of the components of the remuneration and is awarded on the basis of rigid, objective conditions. This was confirmed by the Supreme Court in the judgment of June 29, 2005 (file reference number I PK 272/04), stating that „the benefit, the payment of which depends on the fulfillment of a specific and verifiable condition, is a bonus and not a reward dependent on the recognition of employers „.