The Step-Down Coverage Model: Why Your Income Bridge Is Designed This Way

The Gatoms income bridge starts at 80% of your pre-layoff net monthly salary and steps down by 5 percentage points each month, with a floor of 60%. The floor is fixed — it doesn't decline further. This structure is deliberate and worth understanding, because it's the thing most members misread as 'we're reducing your payout.'

The step-down isn't a cost-cutting mechanism. It's a re-employment incentive built directly into the payout structure. Behavioural research on income replacement programs consistently shows that flat-rate replacement reduces re-employment urgency. The longer someone receives 80% with no change, the more the search activity dips. The step-down creates a monthly financial signal: accepting an offer now is better than accepting one later.

The floor at 60% is the safety net component. We chose 60% because it covers essential expenses for most tech professionals — EMIs, rent, utilities — without being comfortable enough to remove the job search incentive. It's a deliberate design choice to separate 'breathing room' from 'lifestyle maintenance.'

Re-employment bonuses reinforce the incentive from the other side. Members who accept an offer in Month 1 of their placement period receive a bonus of 15% of their monthly coverage amount. Month 2 acceptance carries a 10% bonus, Month 3 a 5% bonus. After Month 3, the bonus window closes. The bonus is paid as a lump sum alongside the final monthly payout and is designed to offset the income step-down for fast re-employers.

The coverage period is capped at 6 months for members with 6+ months on the platform, scaling down proportionally for shorter tenures. This cap also serves an incentive function. We don't extend the cap regardless of circumstances — because doing so would change the signal entirely. The structure works precisely because it's consistent and predictable.