Short-term cash incentives, or annual bonuses, have become the norm for most UK companies, according to research by professional services firm Towers Watson.
The study, which questioned reward professionals at 120 companies, found 94% of employers offer an annual incentive to a broad range of their workforce.
Despite the struggling economy, businesses said bonus pay-outs had been in line with, or near to, their targets over the past few years. The average short-term incentive payment in 2011 was 100% of the company's target, falling slightly to 90% in 2012, with a similar figure anticipated this year.
Joris Wonders, director of Towers Watson's UK reward practice, said: "When companies pay bonuses regardless of individual or financial performance, the rewards can be perceived as an entitlement, rather than an incentive, and lose their value as a motivator."
Richard Bolger, group head of reward at financial technology provider FNZ, said the "auto-bonus" culture had become commonplace at UK businesses. "The pay-out of on-target bonuses each year is definitely becoming the norm - bonuses are now a top-up of salaries," he said. "There is still value in bonus structures, but what people don't maybe see is just how much of an impact or influence they've had on their bonus payment."
Bolger said employers were "reluctant" to change their bonus structure because they are "scared of losing top talent". He added: "Companies are re-evaluating their targets as a means of ensuring they can keep bonus structures as they are."
The study also found around half of employers continue to pay pro-rata bonuses to ex-employees even if they resigned months before. Almost half (49%) of UK employers pay the bonus either when the employee leaves the company or on the company's normal payment date.
"The notion of paying bonuses to people who have left the business and clearly don't have a future at that company is absolutely ridiculous," Bolger told HR magazine.
He added: "I can't see why an employer would want to keep paying an ex-worker who will have no bearing on the future success of the company."
