Is Changing March IC payout Legal?

First off, I want to acknowledge how grateful I am to be employed by Novo Nordisk, especially during this time. During my career, I feel they have always done right by us. Now I question that. After attending the company meeting and hearing of the best quarter in company history, I began wondering why it was so important to take away a large portion of our POA payout. I heard the argument of the big "surge" purchase. I looked at the last 3 weeks of my data. I had actually dipped the last 3 weeks, yet my growth was well ahead of the national trend. If such a surge in retail existed, I should be below the national trend. There was a surge in warehouse purchases, but not in retail scripts generated, which is what our IC is based on. I also heard how people were doing 90 day purchases. That is what I have been selling my physicians on for the whole quarter based on the Ozempic co-pay card. Its what the company wants. So then, I remembered that I had to sign an IC document to be eligible for the program. I went back and read the document, and here is part of it word for word.

15. Plan Modifications
Novo Nordisk Inc, reserves the right to change, suspend, or discontinue this Plan at any time. Any such change, suspension, or discontinuation shall apply prospectively only and shall not affect a participant's entitlement to benefits earned under the plan prior to the effective date of such change. Nothing in this Plan shall be construed as a guarantee of benefits or employment for any participant for any fixed period of time.

I am not a lawyer, but the e-mail announcing the changes to the IC plan was sent April 14, a week after the POA end date. So if changes can only be made prospectively, POA should be paid in full. I signed the document. I feel HR needs to take a look at this and see if what is happening is legal. This is definitely not the Novo Nordisk Way. I encourage everyone to go back and read the IC document, and ask HR if you think the policy is being violated.

 

Lets get a class action going......

 

No you're not, sorry but you come off as an entitled a-hole. I recall the regional and national calls being flooded with questions about reps' personal bonuses as Covid raced through the world, and just shook my head in disbelief back then as well. I am beyond grateful to be employed here, and think this was fair. You are at home in your PJs, and have been for 2 months, so be thankful we all weren't furloughed. ( like many of the staff in our offices and hospitals)

 

You might want to re-read it. It says nothing of the announcement date of the change, but says it won’t affect bonus before the effective date of the change. You can announce something on April 14 with an effective date of March 1. This statement in the bonus plan only protects you from the company trying to get you to repay bonus you’ve already received.

Nice try, Matlock. You’re not going to outsmart the NNI lawyers when it comes to penny pinching.

 

You again? Quit telling people how they should feel and what they should care about because YOU have decided we should all hang our heads in solemn silence because of the Covid pandemic. Where were you when the flu killed 75k last year? Was that not enough death for you to mandate that we all have no self interests until the anonymous poster says we should? I can see you’re tackling important issues like trying to shame people you don’t know on a message board. Bravo, Mr. Self-Righteous DickHead! Thank you for being such a hero.

 

Why does questioning bonus changes make the OP entitled? Their points are valid. We earned that money. No one is debating how terrible Covid-19 and it’s effects are. They simply took time to re-read a NNI policy. Sure, we weren’t furloughed, but that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to be paid what we earned. Why does every reply on here have to be so snarky? I’ll never understand that.

 

"earned under the plan prior to the effective date of such change"
The only way this statement doesn't make sense is if you're a rep who's performance was below goal, you would therefore be happy to be elevated to 100% plan for a month... that way you're making some money.
For those of us who worked very hard to lay the right foundations to have successful client bases that continue to produce for us (even during this covid BS), we're getting screwed out of THOUSANDS of EARNED IC dollars... money we earned before you went into "PJ mode".
Oh, and... it costs about 100k to onboard and train a pharma rep - so if 'they' were to furlough us, there's that. For me, that means it's cheaper for the company to keep me around for about 9 months than to furlough me. For you... you're probably good for a couple of years.

Somebody with a JD after their name should look into this...

 

Ungrateful, selfish asshole.....our ic plan also states we must work in the field 11 says in a month.....we have been out of the field since March 16th. We were only in the field 10 days in March March 2-6 and 9-13. There you go Einstein. No go cry yourself to sleep that you won't get Q2 bonus. Cry, cry, cry baby!

 

I don’t think he was crying. It seemed to be that he was seeking clarity about the bonus plan. Why insult someone because they give a shit about making money? Are you willing to work for free? If not, I guess you’re also an ungrateful, selfish asshole, right? A lot of moral posturing and self righteous bullshit on here....

 

The company had the best quarter ever and they are cutting bonus, ostensibly because things MAY get bad in the future.

Not only that, they gave MORE money to reps who had poor performance DESPITE stocking.

Essentially, some of the money I EARNED went to those reps who didn’t earn it.

Many of us have been busting our butts at home trying to do Engage and stop the business from cratering and there has not been any communication on a POA that we are now halfway through. None.

Are they going to pay us IC for Q2 or not? Does that not impact how motivated reps may feel to go the extra mile during Work From Home?

Personally it does not bother me if a rep in some part of the country gets back out there before me - I’d rather have the opportunity to EARN my bonus by doing what I can than going without.

For many of us, this is a significant part of our compensation that is relied upon - to have crickets halfway through a POA is unacceptable, especially because we are 114% or so to AB.

How are those executive bonuses looking?

 

Some of you sum'bitches couldn't sell pussy on a troop train! Much less collect a "Commission ONLY Mindset"! But yes, WE Should ALL be Paid what we "earned" because they were our "buddies" because of our relationships... LMAO!

 

Have another shot asshat.
Post again in the morning after both of your brain cells are working again.

 

Well, I can’t argue about a decision that is forward looking. Would you rather them wait until things ARE bad before making cuts? I can promise, those cuts would be much deeper.

But, the question is fair. They need to communicate and give clear direction on bonus. But, if it’s the promise of bonus that is getting you to work, I really do hope you quit.

 

Yeah, seriously, I think someone had drained their bottle of whiskey last night. Put me in the camp of people being thankful for anything, I agree that not working for 2 months certainly changes things with regards to IC. I

 

What a pessimistic doltish thing to say.
I don’t know about your territory but the only docs who have written oral Sema here are ones that we have spoken to about it. Docs are not writing from emails or adversitments so I’d like to think our sales reps are clearly the reason they are writing.
The original poster brings up a good question without complaining....Novo is not struggling right now, our stock is close to a 2 year high and in our district we have yet to see a decline in sales. As a sales person we should know our goals and compensation plan.

 

Now that we have the options for what we can do to ease back into field, what if your territory doesnt need 3 people or even 2 people. Now what, forced part time down the line?

 

Of course that’s what will happen. Have you been watching other companies deal with it?

 

Which companies have done Part-time