The majority (88%) of professionals in the City expect to receive a bonus in the 2010/11 bonus round, according to Morgan McKinley Financial Services’ Bonus Survey.
Of that number, 73% expect their bonus to be up to 30% of their base salary. Almost half (48%) expect their bonus to be higher than the previous year while 41% expect it to be the same.
In September 2010, when Morgan McKinley surveyed 235 professionals across the financial services sector in London, the average salary remained steady at £53,400, up from £53,336 in August 2010.
Andrew Evans, managing director at Morgan McKinley Financial Services, said: “It is a positive indicator of financial services market recovery that compared to last year, there is a small rise in the number of professionals who expect to receive a bonus in the 2010/11 bonus round and for those who received a bonus last year, the majority are anticipating either a similar or larger payment.
“These expectations are a reflection of improving business performance across the sector; key to continued market recovery. Throughout the downturn and as we move towards recovery, the spotlight has continued to focus on the size of City compensation packages.
“It is interesting to see from our survey that nearly three quarters (73%) of City workers in back, middle and front office roles are actually expecting bonuses of up to 30% of their salaries, while a quarter (27%) anticipate their bonus to be over 30% of their basic salary.
“The proportion of salary that people anticipate they will receive in a bonus payout explains why the average City employee places greater importance on the basic salary on offer in a new role rather than bonus. The vast majority of financial services workers are not receiving many multiples of their basic salary in bonuses.”
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