A Sydney-based chief security officer who received a $276,500 bonus is one of 1300 Australian IT workers showered with cash and other benefits designed to attract and retain key staff. Recruiter Candle spoke to 5200 IT pros and found that 25 per cent were given an average cash bonus or commission of about $13,800 in the 2012-2013 financial year, a 6 per cent drop from an average of $14,700 the year earlier. ICT salaries remain static Data from Candle’s MySalaryPortal also indicated that men averaged about $3000 more in bonuses and commissions than women, with the average bonus at around $14,000 and $11,000 respectively. Almost half (44 per cent of respondents) received one or more benefits as a work perk with mobile phones, car-related deals and flexible working hours the most popular, according to Candle. Candle CEO Kym Quick said in a statement that despite the national unemployment rate at 5.7 per cent and the jobs market “favouring hirers over candidates”, perks still being used to attract and keep top candidates. “The market is stagnant and it’s clearly impacted the worth of bonuses. We expect this to be the case for some months yet,” Quick said. “In this climate, people are reluctant to leave secure employment so strong inducements remained key to attract people. They’re also being used to retain people who have skills that are in shortage and for high performers.” Employers in the ACT paid the best average bonuses and commissions at $17,200. Outside of management, project managers and team leaders received the highest bonuses, Candle said. Quick said the gender pay gap had shrunk slightly in the past year, from a $4000 gap to $3000, adding that the increasing numbers of women employed in the tech sector would drive demand for certain skills and pay parities. The largest average gender gap was recorded in the ACT where the average male bonus was $18,000 compared to $6,000 for a female. Top 10 benefits across Australia Mobile phone allowance – 23.5% Car park – 20% Car and or car allowance – 12.3% Flexible working hours – 10.9% Health care subsidies – 7.6% Extra annual leave – 6.5% Additional superannuation – 5.9% Paid maternity/paternity leave – 4% Overtime payments – 2.5% Gym/health club membership – 2.4% Related content BrandPost The future of trust—no more playing catch up Broadcom: 2023 Tech Trends That Transform IT By Eric Chien, Director of Security Response, Symantec Enterprise Division, Broadcom Mar 31, 2023 5 mins Security BrandPost TCS gives Blackhawk Network an edge with Microsoft Cloud In this case study, Blackhawk Network’s Cara Renfroe joins Tata Consultancy Services’ Rakesh Kumar and Microsoft’s Nilendu Pattanaik to explain how TCS transformed the gift card company’s customer engagement and global operati By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 1 min Financial Services Industry Cloud Computing IT Leadership BrandPost How TCS pioneered the ‘borderless workspace’ with Microsoft 365 Microsoft’s modern workplace solution proved a perfect fit for improving productivity and collaboration, while maintaining security of systems and data. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 1 min Financial Services Industry Microsoft Cloud Computing BrandPost Supply chain decarbonization: The missing link to net zero By improving the quality of global supply chain data, enterprises can better measure their true carbon footprint and make progress toward a net-zero business ecosystem. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 2 mins Retail Industry Supply Chain Green IT Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe