While Amber Harrison has been forced to launch a public appeal to avoid bankruptcy over her legal battle with Kerry Stokes' Seven West Media, it looks like her former lover - Seven West chief executive Tim Worner -Â might be paying a more modest financial penalty.Â
Worner's remuneration fell by $460,000 last year to $2.74 million after he "asked not to be considered for an STI (short term incentive) award."Â
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He received an STI award of $500,000 the previous year, but it was expected to be much lower for the 2017 financial year.Â
When asked about the bonus cut, Worner indicated it was due to the financial performance of the company, which reported a $745 million loss for the full year due to a billion dollars worth of writedowns.Â
"It hasn't been a stellar year for the company and as such I didn't ask to be considered for a bonus,"Â he said on a conference call.Â
But he admitted it was a "reasonable enough question" when asked if the reputational fallout from his affair with Harrison played a role.
The annual report only noted that Worner asked to not be considered for the incentive payment and said: "The board determined that it would not be appropriate for an STI award to be made to (Worner)."Â
It would not be the first time Worner has had his bonus cut over the affair. His bonus was slashed by $100,000 in 2014 when the board first learnt of the affair, but it was not made public at the time.Â
!["It hasn't been a stellar year," says Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170819135138im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/9/f/6/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxwl07.png/1502957007932.jpg)
Worner joins an unenviable list of CEOs who have forfeited their short-term bonuses over the last week.
Commonwealth Bank boss Ian Narev and all of his direct reports had their short-term bonuses cut due to the fallout from the Austrac scandal. The bank announced Narev will depart within the next year.Â
On Tuesday, it was the turn of embattled Domino's Pizza boss Don Meij to announce that he was handing back his short-term bonus due to reputation damage from underpayment of wages in its franchise network.Â
Fletcher Building boss Mark Adamson also forfeited his short-term bonus last month in slightly more abrupt circumstances that also saw him lose his job.
Follow CBD on Twitter. Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au
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