Today I woke up to be greeted by a rather contradictory headline in our Straits Times paper. Civil servants will not get a bonus this year, but they will get a one-time payment. Hmm. Aren’t bonuses like one-time payments too? It is not like you get it every month, and it is not guaranteed or the same quantum every year. So what is the real difference between a “bonus” and a “one-off payment”?

This one-time payment is being paid out in support of wage restraint. It is based on a quarter month’s salary, but capped at $750. I suppose this is a nice gesture of the Public Service Division to help out lower-income civil servants to make ends meet.

For the record, civil servants will still receive their full 13th month bonus.

There’s a new meaning to “no bonus”.