Microsoft gives employees a $1,500 'pandemic bonus'

Even as coronavirus battered spirits of individuals and businesses around the world, one company decided it would reward its employees to recognise the challenges they faced amidst the pandemic.

Technology major Microsoft announced that it would give its employees in the United States and elsewhere a pandemic bonus worth $1,500 (over Rs 1.1 lakh).

An internal memo described the one-time bonus as a “recognition of the unique and challenging fiscal year that Microsoft just completed," , according to a Verge report.

The gift will apply to all staff below corporate vice president level who joined on or before March 31, 2021, including part-time workers and those on hourly payments, the report added. Employees, from Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, Github and ZeniMax, however, are not eligible to receive this bonus.

Microsoft, which has 1.75 lakh employees globally, is following in the footsteps of other giant corporates like Facebook and Amazon, who offered a $1,000 (nearly Rs 75K) bonus to its 45,000 employees, and a $300 (around Rs 22K) holiday bonus for frontline workers, respectively.