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As bonus season gets under way for those who work in the City, we want to know if your payout will be bigger or smaller than last year’s.
The financial rewards, usually handed out between mid-January and mid-February, have the potential to be even more lucrative than in previous years after UK and US banks lifted EU-imposed bonus caps. The measures were introduced in 2014 to help curb the risk-taking culture that preceded the financial crisis.
The removal of the cap, which limited bankers’ bonuses to twice their base pay, came into force in October 2023 — yet this is the first year we expect to see the changes fully borne out in the pay of top earners.
Banks such as Barclays and JPMorgan have already loosened their bonus limit — awarding material risk takers up to 10 times their fixed pay. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs — the first to lift their bonus cap last May — has increased their payouts up to 25-times base salary.
The legal profession is also expected to see higher bonuses, following a record number of senior lawyers moving jobs in London in 2024. Many US law firms — including Kirkland & Ellis and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison — have expanded their UK operations, which fuelled fierce pay wars last year.
So, tell us, if you work in the City, how do you expect your bonus payout to compare to last year’s award? Will it be significantly bigger? Or more or less the same?
Vote in our poll, comment below the line or fill out our anonymous bonus survey to share your views.
