Human Resources
Finance & Administration

Spot Bonus Awards

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Extraordinary achievement tied to a major goal. It’s worth crowing about, and that’s just what a Spot Bonus Award does. Spot Bonuses provide recognition for employees who take their game to a whole new level.

The monetary value of a Spot Bonus Award varies based on the achievement. In general, the range is $300 to $3,000, which may include a departmental contribution.

What does Lehigh consider Spot Bonus Award-worthy?
  • Performance substantially beyond expectation on a specific assignment, task, or goal
  • Contributions that have a significant impact on department or university objectives
  • Extraordinary efforts above and beyond the normal responsibilities of the position.

In general, the achievement should be a discrete series of actions over a finite period of time. This helps to identify the action as a special situation that rises significantly above the norm.

Who can receive a Spot Bonus Award?

All exempt and nonexempt classified Lehigh staff and research staff members (excluding student and wage employees, leased employees, and affiliated organizations) are eligible. All nominees must have received a performance review in the past year.

Spot Bonuses are only awarded to individuals. Teams are not eligible. Senior level administrators serving in non-classified positions are not eligible.

Who can nominate someone for a Spot Bonus Award?

Anyone in the supervisory chain of command of an employee may start the nomination process for an award.

How does it work?

A supervisor who wishes to nominate one of his or her employees should use the nomination form provided here.

Each successive supervisor up to the Vice President or Vice Provost level will need to concur with the nomination. Final determination rests with a special three-person committee of senior staff. 
Spot Bonuses are awarded and announced several times throughout the year.

One more thing: If you’re considering nominating someone for a Spot Bonus Award, review this list of prior recipients to see if they’ve received one recently.