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Around 50 years ago the line ‘Because you’re worth it’ became the advertising slogan for a French cosmetics company. First coined with the noble intention of reflecting increased female empowerment in the early 1970s, the copywriter originally used ‘Because I’m worth it’, which certainly came of age in the consumerism craze of the 1980s. As shipping begins to close out one of the industry’s more lucrative years and thoughts turn to profit sharing and bonuses, probably quite a few people will be seeking to justify their remuneration with the simple phrase ‘Because I’m worth it’. For those charged with administering remuneration and breaking the news to individual staff, it’s one of the most stressful periods of the year and you rarely make everyone happy. Every company seems to have a different formula, which is hardly surprising with so many shipping companies in private hands. For listed companies, remuneration committees with their set guidelines and procedures will have allocated the bonus pot but this will still have to be put before a shareholders meeting which can sometimes get quite feisty. Hopefully a generous dividend policy will have staved off any potential shareholder revolts on employee remuneration this year, particularly in the liner sector. Reward those who get you through the bad times The guaranteed bonus that seems to be written into the employment contracts of certain financial sector workers doesn’t seem to exist in shipping. Rightly so given the cyclical nature of the business, as you want to avoid saddling yourself with unjustifiably high costs in the weak markets we seem to live with much of the time. We therefore should not begrudge anyone getting a bumper pay packet this year when there has not been much in the way of rich pickings since the last boom in 2008. Hopefully we will not see a repeat of the fallout from that record year when some new arrivals to the business presumed that bumper payouts were the norm and adjusted their lifestyles accordingly just before revenues - and their individual earnings - cratered. Whether you be an owner, charterer or broker, find yourself on the right side of a booming market and the rewards can be impressive. If you fixed everything out on period before things started moving, or your speciality wasn’t the flavour of the month, then you might miss out. It always struck me that the guys who had it hardest were the demolition brokers - in a bad market they were toiling away and doing plenty of deals but with the supply of demolition candidates being driven by lousy charter markets and reduced secondhand values, there probably was not too much cash to spread around. When markets picked up, they were suddenly quiet and their colleagues were getting all the glory - and claiming all the cash. It is unfortunate that the time you really need the best quality staff and the time when they will have to be at their creative best is when markets are awful. This past couple of years were easy street for anyone involved in the container trades, although there has been a sharp return to reality in recent weeks. There have been plenty of years when the team who can keep your ships working, preferably at above operating costs, whilst still being in a position to grab the opportunities that inevitably come with lousy markets, are the real heroes. Perhaps best to hold back some of the riches from the good times to reward those who get you through the bad times. They are the ones who are truly worth it.

Because you’re worth it

After a cracking year for much of shipping, many will be hoping to head off for the holidays with a bumper bonus in their wallet. Our special correspondent looks at some of the pitfalls of bonus season.

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