Hanging In there
The first quarter is traditionally the time for Hong Kong's legions of banking and finance sector workers to congratulate themselves on the size of their salary increases and speculate about pending bonus payments.
But this year, with the economy firmly entrenched in a recession, the priority is simply to hang on to a job. Beyond that, being able to maintain the same basic remuneration is something of a minor triumph and any bonus, no matter how paltry, is a cause for celebration not complaint.
Dorraine Tay, principal for executive recruitment consultancy Derwent Executive, said that many finance sector professionals would be wise to expect no bonus at all, based on corporate earnings last year. Banks were keeping quiet about how or if they will pay discretionary bonuses and, in the present difficult climate, it is fair to assume they will be drawing the purse-strings tight.
Ms Tay, whose company specialises in back-office recruitment, said that bankers were seeing remuneration packages scaled back in other ways. Signing-on bonuses for senior staff were becoming increasingly rare, and there was a clear trend away from guaranteed bonuses. Instead, if bonuses were written into contracts, they were likely to be performance-based and would depend on certain targets being met.
Executives moving to a new employer for a job with the same level of seniority should not hold out hope for a significant premium on their previous salary.
