City watchdog tables fresh employment terms and pay rise to staff in bid to settle dispute
The City watchdog has offered its workers a fresh employment package in a bid to resolve a long-running dispute over pay, it announced today.
Some of the lowest paid employees at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will receive an at least £4,300 wage bump, while workers that meet performance targets will get a £5,500 pay increase.
The average pay of an FCA worker will rise seven per cent this year and 12 per cent over the next two years.
The move comes after staff at the watchdog have threatened to walk out of the regulator over what they deem as inappropriate pay levels and changes.
A poll by the Staff Consultative Committee found 56 per cent of nearly 1,800 FCA that responded said they were considering leaving the regulator due to the changes in remuneration.
Earlier this month, 87 per cent of unionised FCA staff voted in favour of strike action over reported attempts to cut their pay.
The regulator had been in discussions with staff over the structure of the new employment package.
The 2022 pay increase oustrips current inflation levels – running at 5.5 per cent, a near 30 year high – although the rate of price increases is expected to top seven per cent this April.
The FCA said staff at the regulator are among the best paid out of any government enforcement agency.
Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, said “he is grateful for the time colleagues have spent contributing to the consultation and I understand the strength of feeling about some of the changes we are making.”
The consultation between FCA staff and decision makers took into nearly 8,000 instances of employee feedback between last September and December.
FCA staff bonuses will be scrapped from next year. However, the highest performing employees will get their hands on their bonus this April.
The new pay structure is designed to incentivise workers to improve their productivity levels by linking wage increases to performance.
Around 85 per cent of FCA are already hitting their performance targets.
Staff still have to accept the new employment terms.