Companies delayed about £1.7bn of bonus payments in the last financial year to take advantage of the cut in income tax rates from 50p to 45p from April 2013, figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

Using its conventional measures, ONS figures show bonus payments across all industries in 2012-2013 were up by 1% reaching £36.9bn. Of this, £13.3bn was paid in bonuses in the finance and insurance industry, virtually unchanged from the previous financial year. Total bonus payments received in the rest of the economy were £23.6bn, almost as high as in 2007-08, when bonus payments were at their peak.

The average employee bonus in 2012-13 was £1,400, but finance sector workers topped the table with an average £11,900 which is nearly twice the next highest average payment of £6,700 in the mining and quarrying sector.

However, the ONS figures also show that the finance sector's traditional 'bonus season' of payments between December and March changed this year, with April 2013 seeing unusually high levels of payouts. Total bonus payments were £1.3bn in April 2013 compared with £0.6bn in April 2012.

Similarly, total bonus payments paid in the rest of the economy were £2.9bn in April 2013 compared with £1.9bn paid in April 2012, largely to allow companies deferring payment to take advantage of the government's decision to cut the top rate of income tax from 50p to 45p.

ONS's further analysis shows total bonus payments received across the whole economy during the period May 2012 to April 2013 was £38.6bn, an increase of 4% compared with a year earlier. The average bonus per employee at whole economy level during this period was £1,500. Of the total, £14bn was paid in the finance and insurance industry, also a 4% increase over the year.

The data shows education and health and social work were the lowest with average bonuses of less than £100 per employee. The average private sector worker received £1,700 in bonuses in 2012-13, more than five times the average public sector worker's bonus of £300. If financial services- which include the temporarily nationalised banks - are removed from the public sector, the average public sector worker's bonus fell to £100.