Bonus money paid to workers in the UK has been steadily climbing higher, nearly reaching the level it was when the financial meltdown hit.
Total payments in the year ending April 2014 were £40.5bn. In the same period of 2008 the amount was £42.5bn. The following year it dropped sharply to £34bn.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest average payment was in the finance and insurance sector. An average increase of £700 brought the amount to £13,300.
Next greatest was in mining, with an average of £7,000.
The data from the Office for National Statistics also show that the average bonus payment to private sector employees was £1,800, while those in the public sector were given an average of £200.
Out of a total of 30.6 million workers in Britain, there are 1.175 million people working in finance and insurance. They lapped up 36% of the £40.5bn awarded as bonuses. In the financial peak of 2007 this was just shy of 34%.
