According to the union Unite, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must provide its employees with a better compensation package if it wants to continue serving the public interest.
The FCA has a pay and conditions dispute with its employees. The FCA oversees the behavior of about 50,000 financial services companies.
It claimed to have informed personnel on Tuesday that they should anticipate an average base salary increase of 6.5% this year.
Unite, however, claimed that FCA management refused to talk to employees about compensation and morale, which caused unhappiness and hundreds of employee departures over the previous 18 months.
According to the union, it is pushing the regulator to the “breaking point” and puts into question its competence to protect consumer safety.
The FCA asserted that despite having more than 4,200 employees, annual turnover of hundreds of employees is normal.
Approximately 650 employees departed the company last year, but more than 1,130 were employed, it claimed.
Unite regional officer Steve O’Donnell wrote to FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi with the following message: “We are writing to you following your decision to impose a pay contract for 2023 that fails to meet the rising costs of living and your refusal to consult personnel at any point in reaching this decision.
“Unite the Union has had to due to your management’s failure to allow the workforce a say on compensation,” the statement continued.
Over a quarter of the FCA personnel have already left in the past year alone, Mr. O’Donnell continued. These employees are being replaced by more expensive but less qualified new hires.
“Unite the Union makes it quite clear that the FCA is on the verge of collapse if big investments are not made in your employees right away.
On your current course, the public can no longer have faith in the FCA’s ability to act in the public interest, the reality is.
According to the union, base pay should be raised in step with inflation, independent of performance ratings.
According to the FCA, employees making less than £125,000 who exceed their performance goals will get salary increases of at least 4.5%, while those making more than £125,000 would receive a minimum pay increase of 4%.
The company has also given the majority of its employees two cost-of-living adjustments totaling £1,250 during the past six months.
According to the FCA, staff remuneration has increased by an average of 14% over the past two years.
We continue to offer one of the best overall employment packages of any regulator or enforcement agency in the UK, a representative for the company said.
“We attract a high caliber of talent, and over the last 12 months, we’ve successfully hired more than 1,000 new colleagues as our staff rises to accommodate an expanding remit.”
This month, Unite surveyed 500 FCA employees, both union members and non-members, including personnel from every level and department as well as employees from its UK-based operations.
It was discovered that 87% of employees were unhappy with the employment offer announced in April and that 62% thought they weren’t being paid adequately for their work.
According to a survey by Unite, more over half of staff are actively considering leaving the FCA.
In its nine-year history, employees at the regulator in Edinburgh went on strike for the first time in May.
At the time, Unite claimed that although performing the same job, Edinburgh-based employees were in a worse situation than their London-based counterparts.
