How the Summer Months Can Cause Issues for

Sharp Consultancy's Salary Survey 2025/26: Resetting the Landscape: Strategic Shifts in Finance Recruitment

It would be remiss not to start by addressing the elephant in the room — 2024 was a challenging year.While there were many reasons for this and numerous industries were affected, recruitment likely bore the brunt of it, particularly in the 6 months post-election(s).Whilst key roles and critical hires remained unaffected, certain head counts and processes were scrutinised and investment paused with internal restructures and automation utilised to reduce costs, in some instances, at the expense of employees. We subsequently saw an increase in candidate activity, with the talent pool strengthening. As those pressures eased in Quarter 4, recruitment processes saw improvement and green shoots have emerged. Optimism is on the rise in key hiring processes, albeit with a caveat. The cloud of additional cost increases in April, which is still dissipating. The senior finance and C-Suite market remains relatively unaffected, both regarding opportunities and candidates, it is the levels below that we have seen more change. In the evolving landscape of working dynamics, the volume of hybrid working is gradually waning despite sustained interest from candidates, presenting fewer job opportunities. While the blend of office and remote work remains desirable, it is no longer the predominant factor, indicating a notable shift in priorities for clients and candidates’ acceptance alike. Conversations with candidates underscore a growing desire around the importance of having a supportive mentor or manager and many professionals are increasingly open to a full-time return to the office if it guarantees enhanced guidance and avenues for professional advancement. "The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region."Throughout the professional practice market, some similar trends have been observed but there have been noticeable differences in the past year. Salaries across the range of candidates in professional practice, from AAT to fully Qualified (ACA/ACCA) individuals are still rising and those firm’s able to offer competitive salaries alongside stronger training contracts are beating out the competition in a candidate market with a growing focus on study support packages and career advancement opportunities for Part-Qualified candidates, indicating an increase in demand from employers and the volume of available job seekers. The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region, in what feels like the longest period of stability seen since Q4 2020 and we expect transactional finance salaries to remain stable throughout 2025/26, with anticipated salary increments to be moderate compared to the significant increases observed throughout the last 2 years. AI & Systems (process automation) continues to impact accountancy and finance, in particular, across larger functions but this has increased the need for wider interim support to assist with the transition and implementation especially with large, automated processes. Whilst 2025-26 will not be the same marketplace for recruitment as seen in previous years, there is certainly a growing level of optimism and whilst a more settled market may be seen as a negative in some areas, for those that have weathered the peaks and troughs over a longer period of time, it will feel very normal and a strong setting for both employees and employers to take advantage and thrive, with an increasing emphasis on growth and development.Download the full Salary Survey here!

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Summer is fast approaching and whilst long, hot sunny days may still seem some way off, the coming months can present employers with some seasonally related staff scenarios to handle. We take a look at a few of the most common situations employers are likely to face as the temperatures (hopefully) rise.

Handling holiday requests

Check your holiday policy – or if you don’t have one in place now is a good time to adopt one – and make sure that all staff are aware of the procedure for requesting and authorising time off. Certain times of the year are more popular for holiday requests – particularly if employees need to fall in line with school holiday times – so make sure that you adopt a fair and consistent approach. Also consider if you will need any additional seasonal staff to cover holidays or peak business periods and start the recruitment process early.

Late return from holiday

There can be a number of reasons why an employee may not to return to work after a holiday; some of these may be outside of their control due to illness or transport delays. And whilst foreign travel is currently prohibited announcements are expected in the coming weeks. As witnessed last year, the situation can be very fast moving, and if travel abroad is allowed, there is the possibility of added considerations surrounding quarantine measures upon return. Ensure that all staff are made aware of what they should do if they find themselves unable to return to work following a holiday.

The heat is on...

When the sun is rising, places of work can become hot and stuffy – and whilst there is no maximum temperature stated, it is important to ensure that the conditions are ‘reasonable’. This can vary for different workplaces and the work that employees are being asked to carry out. As well as added ventilation measures in line with COVID-19 recommendations, take steps to monitor the temperature throughout the day and consider whether air conditioning systems or fans etc will be beneficial.

Dress for success...

Employers may adopt a more relaxed dress code during the warmer months however staff should still dress appropriately for the role that they perform. Customer facing roles may still require employees to uphold particular standards at times – such as wearing a tie – and employers should be clear on situations when it may be possible for these to be relaxed. Consideration must also be given to protective clothing which is required for health and safety purposes. For those employees working from home, a more relaxed approach is possible however, be sure to reiterate expectations for meetings and video calls which are being conducted remotely.

‘Long’ weekends

As well as an increased number of requests for annual leave, May sees two bank holiday weekends and many employers also find that the summer months can lead to a spate of last-minute or even unauthorised days off as employees want to take advantage of the nice weather. Employers need to monitor absenteeism and ensure that the reasons for not coming to work are indeed genuine. Ensure that you have in place a disciplinary procedure which you may need to follow if an employee has taken unauthorised time off without a satisfactory explanation.

Summer sporting calendar

Whilst we are still awaiting confirmation, this summer could be a bumper one for sport with the rearranged Olympics and European Football Championships set to take place alongside annual events including Wimbledon. A packed sporting calendar can present several issues including requests to time off, distracted employees trying to keep up with the latest scores whilst at their desk and allowances being made to watch key games and matches during work time.

Even where timings for sporting events don’t clash with working hours, a busy social life can result in tired, hungover or late employees the next day. If you are going to make allowances for staff to watch particular games or adjust their working hours make sure this is communicated in advance and is fair to other employees who may not be interested in participating.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance and accountancy professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to find out more.

TURN UP THE HEAT