---
title: Managing referrals and approving the bonus
description: Correct the bonus promised and the hire date, decline a referral, approve the bonus for payroll and request an indicative CV analysis.
url: "http://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/employee-referrals-managing-referrals/"
updated: "2026-11-11"
category: Employee referrals
---

# Managing referrals and approving the bonus

The **Management** tab of Referrals brings together all the referrals received in your workspace. Tracking the application itself — stages, interviews, decision — stays in Recruitment; here you decide what is specific to the referral: the bonus promised, the actual hire date, declining a referral and approving the bonus, which goes to payroll. You can also request an indicative AI reading of the CV. This article is written for HR staff, administrators and recruiters.

## Before you start

- To see the tab, you need the **Manage referrals** permission at the **Access** level. To edit, decline and request a CV analysis, you need it at the **Execute** level. The Administrator, HR and Recruiter roles hold it.
- To approve a bonus, you need the **Approve the referral bonus and send it to payroll** permission at the **Execute** level, held by the Administrator and HR roles. A recruiter manages referrals without approving bonuses.
- For the **Analyse** button, the **AI CV analysis** feature must be on in the programme, and AI must be enabled for your company.

## Reading the list of referrals

Open **Referrals › Management**. The card shows how many referrals were received and reminds you that the referral status follows the Recruitment pipeline. For each referral, the table shows:

- **Candidate**: their name, the job, their e-mail address, the referrer’s message and, if there is one, the score of the latest CV analysis;
- **Referred by**: the referrer, the date and the channel (**through the form** or **through their link**);
- **Status**: the badge and its detail — the Recruitment stage, the hire date and the date from which the bonus can be approved, the reason for declining or the approval date;
- **Bonus**: the amount promised, the campaign it comes from where relevant, and what still prevents approval (**Presence period running**, **Amount to enter**…);
- **Actions**: the buttons your permissions allow.

Use the **All statuses** list at the top right to show only one status; each option shows its number of referrals.

![Management tab seen by an HR manager: the module’s five tabs, the “12 referral(s) received” card with the All statuses filter, then the table Candidate, Referred by, Status, Bonus and Actions; it shows referrals In progress with their stage (Offer, Application received, HR interview, Screening), one Declined with its reason, one Not selected, one Hired with “Presence period running”, and another Hired whose bonus can be approved, with the Approve bonus button; each line carries the Analyse button, greyed out for lack of a CV, and the pencil and cross icons.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/cooptation-06.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C774&quality=80&ssl=1)
All referrals received, their status and their bonus.

### Where the status comes from

The status automatically follows the application in Recruitment:

- “Hired” stage → **Hired**; if nobody has entered it, the hire date is the day of the move;
- application rejected → **Not selected**;
- any other stage → **In progress**, including for a reopened application.

**Declined** and **Bonus approved** are HR actions: Recruitment does not undo them, and a referral in either status can no longer be changed.

## Correcting the bonus promised and the hire date

1. On the referral’s line, click the pencil icon (**Edit the referral of …**).
2. The **Referral of …** dialog opens. Correct the **Bonus promised** if needed; leave the field empty if there is no bonus.
3. If the person has been hired, the **Actual hire date** appears: enter the real start date. The sentence below reminds you that the bonus can be approved a number of months after that date.
4. Click **Save**. The message “Referral updated.” confirms it.

![Referral of Mathis GIRARD dialog: the sentence “Referred by Pierre-Alain MOSER for “Administrateur systèmes et réseaux (H/F)””, the Bonus promised (CHF) field at 1500.00, the Actual hire date field at 22/08/2026, the sentence “The bonus can be approved 3 months after this date.”, then the Cancel and Save buttons.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/cooptation-07.en_.png?resize=448%2C346&quality=80&ssl=1)
The bonus promised and, after hiring, the date that starts the period of presence.

The hire date can only be entered once the person is hired. It also counts for badges and the ranking.

## Declining a referral

Decline a referral when it should not give a bonus: a duplicate, a candidate already known, a referral outside the rules.

1. On the line, click the cross icon (**Decline the referral of …**).
2. The **Decline the referral?** dialog reminds you that the referrer will not receive a bonus and that the application stays in Recruitment.
3. Enter the **Reason**, which is required.
4. Click **Decline**. The message “Referral declined.” confirms it.

![Decline the referral? dialog: the sentence “Laurent KELLER will not receive a bonus for Elena ROSSI. The application stays in Recruitment.”, the required Reason field filled in with “Application already received through the careers page.”, then the Cancel and Decline buttons.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/cooptation-08.en_.png?resize=448%2C360&quality=80&ssl=1)
The reason is required; the referrer is notified.

The referrer is told that their referral was declined. This is final: the referral can no longer be changed.

## Approving the bonus

The **Approve bonus** button only appears when the bonus can be approved: the person is hired, the required period of presence is over, an amount is entered and the referrer still exists. Otherwise, the **Bonus** column says what is missing.

1. On the line, click **Approve bonus**.
2. The **Approve the bonus?** dialog sums up the amount, the referrer and the person hired, and reminds you that the bonus goes to payroll and can no longer be changed.
3. Click **Approve and send**. The message “Bonus approved and sent to payroll.” confirms it.

![Approve the bonus? confirmation dialog: “CHF 1’500 to Marc BOURQUIN, for hiring Camille ROCHAT. The bonus goes to payroll and can no longer be changed.”, with the Cancel and Approve and send buttons.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/cooptation-09.en_.png?resize=460%2C262&quality=80&ssl=1)
Approval fixes the amount and sends it to the referrer’s bonuses.

### What approval creates

- A bonus in the referrer’s name, labelled as a referral bonus with the name of the person hired and the job. It is dated in the first month whose payroll for the referrer is not yet approved.
- This bonus is locked: it cannot be changed from the salary tab.
- If the **Referral bonus: referrer’s manager approval** circuit is active, the bonus is submitted to the referrer’s line manager before going to payroll; otherwise, if a bonus approval circuit is active, it follows that; if not, it is payable straight away.
- If the bonus is rejected in the circuit, the referral goes back to **Hired**: you can correct the amount, approve the bonus again or decline the referral.
- The referrer is told that their bonus has been approved.

## Requesting an AI CV analysis

The **Analyse** button asks AI for a reading of how well the CV fits the job. It is a reading aid, on request: nothing is sent automatically when a referral is received.

1. On the line of a referral whose application has a CV, click **Analyse**. Without a CV, the button is greyed out and says “No CV attached: the analysis reads the CV.”.
2. Once the analysis is done, the score appears under the candidate’s name. Click **See the analysis** to expand it.

The analysis gives a score from 1 to 5 in stars, a summary, the **Strengths**, the **Gaps** and the **Criteria not covered** of the job, with the date, who requested it and the model used. It is written in the language of the person who requested it and always carries the words “For information only — a reading aid, it decides nothing.”.

## Good to know

- The analysis does not sort, filter or rank any referral: the list keeps its order. It covers the CV and the job, never the referrer, and neither the referrer nor the candidate sees it.
- The analysis uses your company’s AI allowance. If AI is not enabled or the monthly cap has been reached, a message says so.
- The bonus promised on receipt is fixed on the referral: changing the programme or a campaign does not change it; only a correction in this dialog does.
- The required period of presence is also fixed on each referral when it is received.

## Frequently asked questions

### The Approve bonus button does not appear for a person who was hired.

Look at the **Bonus** column: **Presence period running** means the “approvable” date has not been reached; **Amount to enter**, that no amount is promised. If you are a recruiter, your role does not carry the permission to approve bonuses.

### The hire date is wrong.

It is set to the day of the move to the “Hired” stage if nobody entered it. Correct it with the pencil icon: the bonus approval date is worked out again.

### Can I undo declining a referral?

No. A declined referral is closed. The application itself stays in Recruitment.

### The analysis fails with “The attached CV could not be read.”

The file cannot be used. No analysis is saved; ask for a CV in a readable format (PDF, DOC or DOCX).

### *Similaire*