Unite has written to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) CEO Nikhil Rathi warning of rising staff anger and discontent at the regulator after the union found 87% of members who responded to it were dissatisfied with the FCA’s employee offer of April 2022.
The offer led to employees twice backing industrial action over the new pay and conditions last year and Rathi (pictured) committing to speaking to staff to turn their feedback into action in November.
The FCA’s introduction of an excess payment on its private medical insurance (PMI) scheme has become one of the key negotiating points in the dispute between the regulator and staff.
Unite’s letter to Rathi is in the form of a Dear CEO letter calling on him to urgently rethink the regulator’s pay proposals.
It said half of FCA workers were considering leaving their jobs as a result of the 4.5% pay deal and claimed “hundreds of workers” had already left the FCA over the last 18 months.
The trade union said staff were “facing financial strain” and warned that with experienced people leaving the public “can no longer have confidence in the FCA”.
National officer Dominic Hook said: “Unite’s survey makes it clear that on Nikhil Rathi’s watch there is a serious staffing crisis at the Financial Conduct Authority.
“When 97% of the survey participants report facing financial strain the imposition of a 4.5 per cent pay deal is intolerable.
“The exodus of experienced staff from the FCA is pushing the regulator towards breaking point. There are now serious questions about the FCA’s ability to keep consumers safe.
“On the current trajectory the public can no longer have confidence in the FCA’s ability to deliver in the public interest.
“Management must reconsider the imposition of this pay offer. Without meaningful discussions with Unite the regulator will continue to lose committed staff, leaving those who remain facing extreme challenges.”
Other key findings of the Unite survey included:
- 60% of participants did not know how their pay will be determined this year despite promises of greater transparency
- 88% of these staff asked for a pay uplift at least in line with inflation after pay cuts last year
- 97% had been affected by the cost of living crisis – 50 per cent significantly so
- 7% believed they were not paid fairly for the work they do.
- 57% were actively looking to leave the FCA.
The regulator told Health & Protection that its average increase in base pay will be 6.5%, which would be 14% over last two years, and that most employees have received two one-off payments totalling £1,250 over the last six months amid the cost of living crisis.
“We have made improvements to our pay beyond what we set out last year,” the spokesperson said.
“As a result, this year, we expect colleagues to receive, on average, a base salary increase of 6.5%. Along with other changes, this will help us continue to rebalance our overall salaries and narrow pay gaps.
“We continue to provide one of the best overall employment packages of any other regulator or enforcement agency in the UK.
“We attract a high calibre of talent, and we’ve successfully recruited more than 1,000 new colleagues over the last 12 months as our headcount grows to meet an expanding remit.”
