UK banks face redundancies while ‘deadwood’ colleagues in Europe keep jobs

Bankers in Britain have lashed out at European labour laws which mean “deadwood” colleagues on the continent keep their jobs despite redundancy drives. Strict labour laws in Europe are said to have triggered a re-think among executives whose firms expanded there because of Brexit.

An unnamed executive told the Daily Telegraph when redundancies occur it never impacts Europe, adding: “Even with the recent lay-offs, our bank couldn’t get rid of the absolute deadwood in Paris.”

They added their bank has staff in Paris it has wanted to get rid of for a decade, including one underperforming colleague who instead of being paid off had proposed moving elsewhere on a £500,000 salary.

The same publication reports that hedge fund Brevan Howard is considering closing its office in Paris and rival ExodusPoint is shutting its outpost in the French capital.

British lawyer, Matthew Devey, who is based in Frankfurt and Linklater’s Head of Employment in Germany, said expats can feel “incredulous” at the legal process, cost and culture.

He said some moved to Germany under the impression it was a hard-working society, but were then faced with the country’s quite rigid employment laws.

Advertising tycoon Sir Martin Sorrell has warned the UK appears to be heading in the same direction as France, telling the Telegraph: “[We] don’t want more labour market rigidity.”

The King’s Speech included a commitment by the Labour Government to secure legislation on a raft of workers’ rights, including a ban on some zero-hours contracts and protection against unfair dismissal from the first day in a job.

Outgoing Conservative Party leader, Rishi Sunak, told Parliament in his response to the speech that Britain has reaped a number of benefits from its more flexible labour market compared to European countries.

Wall Street firms are said to want the French government to make it easier to fire staff, with reports bosses are hesitating about hiring because of France’s strict labour laws.

The volatile political situation in France, protests and potential bankruptcies have rattled the country’s business elite in recent weeks.

French president Emmanuel Macron had been pursuing pro-business reforms, but his recent election defeat threatens to derail those efforts, spooking some business leaders.