Accountants are holding power in the UK jobs market

New statistics that have been released about the UK’s job market have revealed that companies are more desperate than ever to hold on to accountants and finance professionals.

In fact, firms are so determined to hold on to quality finance staff that currently, three quarters of these professionals are receiving counter-offers and pay rises in order to encourage them to stay in their existing role even after handing in their resignation.

The good news for candidates is that these counter offers are on average at least 16% higher than the salary proposed by a potential new employer. The bad news for employers however is that almost 40% of employees admit that even if they did accept this salary that they are unlikely to remain in their current role for more than an additional 12 months.

Whilst counter-offers have been commonplace in London and in investment banking for many years now, the practice is still fairly new to tax and audit professionals – including those who are newly qualified. With companies doing everything they can to hold on to these professionals however, counter-offers are being witnessed more and more.

Tara Ricks, a Financial & Professional Managing Director commented:

“While counter-offers have been a feature of the City hiring process for decades, they’re never been this prevalent. Even in early 2008, when risk professionals were rarer than hen’s teeth, only 40% of risk professionals were getting buybacks.

This is a candidate-driven market and employers are doing all they can to hang on to key staff. Not only are the banks and the large professional services desperate to recruit, they are also prepared to fight to hold onto the right people. The end result is that counter-offers have increased in both frequency and scale.”

What are your thoughts on the topic? Are you a finance professional who has received a job offer and your employer has offered you a higher salary to stay? Perhaps you are an employer – are you willing to do anything to retain your key members of staff? Feel free to share your thoughts with us below.

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