This year Slaughter and May has made its Christmas bonus discretionary for the first time.

Until now, fairly unusually for a law firm, all associates recieved a flat bonus. Last year it was 5%. But this year associates will need to have notched up a "good or exceptional level of performance" in order to qualify for the full bonus.

The bonus percentages available are all more generous than last year (when they were slashed from the year before). Senior associates could get a pretty sizeable Yuletide windfall. Here's the breakdown:

 - NQs up to six months PQE - 6%

 - 1-2 PQE - 8%

 - 2.5 - 4 PQE - 10%

 - 4.5 to 6.5 PQE - 12% (associates above 6.5 PQE are unlikely to be found on the Slaughter & May premises - the Magic Circle firm has a lethally effective up or out policy).

Associates whose performance falls short of what Slaughters expects will still get a bonus, but at a lower percentage than peers who didn't spend the whole year playing Farmville or staring at naked ladies out the window.
 

A Slaughters associate with a good or exceptional level of performance yesterday

Trainees and support staff will receive a bonus of 3%, which is up on the 2.5% bonus they recieved in 2012. Although trainees will be getting less than the 4% dished out in 2011. For support staff, it is a return to 2011 levels.

The shift to discretionary bonuses follows the firm's move to a new appraisal process for associates introduced in January this year, which also led to new, performance-based differentation in salaries.

Executive Partner Richard Clark said, “Our philosophy as a firm is different to the extent that we do not impose billing or time recording targets on our associates and our approach to bonus differentiation is to recognise performance and career progression while ensuring that we reflect our team culture of valuing everyone’s contribution.”