BOSSES are being rewarded for failure as more than one in five receive a bonus even if they fall short of expectations, a report revealed yesterday.

Researchers found that many managers and professional staff pocketed extra pay despite missing targets last year.

Of those deemed to be underperforming or developing, 23 per cent still received a bonus on top of their basic salary, the Chartered Management Institute and XpertHR study found.

The average bonus paid to this group was worth £4,270, or 12 per cent of basic pay, taking total packages to £40,067.

And the data also suggested that so-called “rewards for failure” could be more common for senior managers, with 43 per cent of those falling short of expectations still getting a bonus.

The survey analysed remuneration data for more than 105,000 managers and professionals from 425 organisations.