Microsoft employees are getting a one-time $1,500 bonus due to the pandemic

A surprise payday arrives for Microsoft employees.

What you need to know

• Microsoft is giving its employees a one-time $1,500 bonus.
• It's in response to the "unique and challenging fiscal year."
• Part-time and hourly workers will receive the bonus as well.

It seems Microsoft employees are set to get one last stimulus check, this time directly from their employer. The tech giant has decreed that most employees will receive a one-time $1,500 bonus "in recognition of the unique and challenging fiscal year that Microsoft just completed," according to an internal memo (via The Verge).

U.S. employees, as well as those internationally, will receive the bonus, as will anyone hired before April 1, 2021 (what a cruel, retroactive April Fool's Day joke it must be for the few employees hired that fateful day). Hourly employees and part-time workers will also receive the benefit. Two major categories of people being exempted from the perk are those hired from April onward and executives with a title of corporate vice president or higher.

Other employees being exempted are those who work for GitHub, LinkedIn, and ZeniMax. That means Bethesda's Todd Howard will not be receiving a surprise stimulus check from Microsoft. He will have to settle for the profits from Fallout 76.

Given the sorts of profits Microsoft is reaping, it's not surprising that the company is able to give back now and then. With so many successful projects, products, and deals, such as the company's HoloLens contract with the U.S. Army, or its ever-popular Xbox Series X, or the upcoming Windows 11, there's no shortage of revenue (and revenue enablement) streams on tap.

Since the pandemic isn't quite over, it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will dole out another one-off bonus to employees later on in recognition of the sure-to-be unique fiscal year coming up.