incentive pay

noun

1. additional pay, a higher wage, or a bonus paid to promote the productivity of an employee.

Word History and Origins

Origin of incentive pay¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Year-end bonuses for 2025 are projected to be robust, with some businesses seeing double-digit increases in incentive pay.

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Year-end bonuses are projected to be robust for the second-straight year, with double-digit increases in incentive pay in some businesses, according to financial services compensation consultancy Johnson Associates.

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California’s civil rights agency sued Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard in July 2021, alleging that female employees faced constant sexual harassment, that few women were named to leadership roles and that when they were, they earned less salary, incentive pay and total compensation than male peers.

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Wages and salaries for private sector workers, excluding those who receive bonuses and other incentive pay, rose 0.9% in the third quarter, down from 1.1% in the previous period.

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It also includes $4.4 million in incentive pay, the filing showed.

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