Q2?has drawn?to a close, so the time has come?to share some market insights with you.
The beginning of?2022?has been fraught with uncertainty, as we approach the latter part of the year this picture is unlikely to change. But, despite our caution from the end of?Q1?that we may see a slight decline in activity this quarter, overall it feels that we’re still in the pre-pandemic ‘bounce’.
With that said, market conditions right now are not as joyful as you'd think. As employers continue to hone in on their staff retention measures,?Q2?has seen the added pressure on salaries as employers face intense scrutiny to reassess salaries in light of the sharp increase to cost of living.
So, how is?this uncertainty playing?out in the market? And what are we likely to see in?Q3?as?murmurings of a potential recession increase?
We’ll be covering the following markets:?
- Direct Tax
- Indirect Tax & Customs
- Treasury
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Direct Tax
Click here?to?access Ed's?complete Direct Tax report covering:
- The end of?Q2?usually signals what’s commonly known as the quiet period in the recruitment.?But, there’s been nothing normal about the job market over the last?2?years, so demand for tax professionals continues to be high.?
- Retention?has been tricky for many firms within this competitive market, Ed discusses what firms including the Big?4?are doing to both?attract & retain talent.?
- Outside of remuneration packages, Ed addresses what else firms can do to increase their success rates in filling open vacancies.
- Q1?had a large uptick in part-qualified & newly qualified corporate tax candidates, but in?Q2?it's Managers, Senior Managers and Directors that have been?most in demand.?
- Private client tax professionals at the Manager grade or above have been highly sought after, especially by mid tier firms.?
- Transfer pricing positions have decreased after a few months of successful recruitment drives. So what has filled this gap?
- With the predictions of this summer being the most?active in recent times, news headlines?are likely to focus on pay rises &?record benefits, but?will we see firms become cautious about a potential recession on the horizon?
Ed?Moore?l?Principal Consultant l Direct Tax
Indirect Tax & Customs
Click here?to?access?Alex's?Indirect Tax & Customs report discussing:
- Speaking with Partners, there seems to be?plenty of work around, however a key issue across both indirect tax & customs is delivery. So, the recruitment spotlight is currently on the Associate to Manager grades. Although there have been some moves at the senior end of the market, conversations are still bubbling away & their outcomes should come to light in?Q3?&?Q4.?It is very much an opportunistic time for those at the Assistant Manager to Manager grades.
- Across the indirect tax market, the demand for analysts has remained the dominant grade as it comprises?47.2%?of the market, followed by?36.7%?of this quarter’s activity being the drive for managers.
- VAT compliance teams in the UK are feeling a pinch. How will this be resolved in the over the latter half of the year??
- The in-house market across the?UK,?BENELUX, &?DACH?markets has been extremely buoyant this quarter, most noticeably with an uptick in customs recruitment where we saw a combination of?246?vacancies (compared with?218?indirect tax jobs).
- While little has changed in the activity of hiring for each grade, we are finding that in-house roles are becoming much harder to fill than in previous quarters. But why is this?
- The next quarter - and remainder of?2022?- will be a telling period over how companies navigate through such market pressures. Whilst wages are very much in the headlines today, employers are also juggling other key retention and engagement policies, namely diversity and inclusion which remains hot on the agenda.
Alex?Mann?l?Director & Head of Tax Recruitment l Indirect Tax & Tax Technology
Treasury
Click here?to?access Guy's complete Treasury?report covering:
- Increase in treasury recruitment at all levels for a third consecutive quarter.
- Further increase of?42.9%?in the number of treasury jobs being recruited during?Q2
- 60%?of these vacancies were recruited on an interim basis.
- Levels of permanent recruitment have remained high, however we've observed?a significant increase in the number of interim treasury jobs being recruited (60%?of treasury vacancies were recruited on an interim basis during?Q2). Is this due to the increased urgency to recruit?
- Candidates have multiple offers?on the table, how can you stand out?
- The candidate pool is growing & the demand to secure talent is on the up, leading to?an upwards drive in salary since?Q1.?
- Treasury recruitment is likely to slow a little as we approach the summer holidays, as was the case during the Christmas, Easter and Half Term holidays, with many people desperate to take time out and catch up on missed holidays; but we expect activity to return to current levels as we move into September.
Guy Middleton?l?Associate Director l Treasury (UK & EMEA)
Did you know we host a number?of invite only?WhatsApp & Telegram?groups for tax professionals? These include:
- VAT Chat??- for Indirect Tax professionals??
- Trade Talks?- for Customs & Global Trade professionals
- TaxChat Global?- for International Tax professionals
- TP Talks?- for Transfer Pricing professionals??
- The TaxTech Hub?- for Tax Technology professionals
- TaxJobs LIVE?- for Tax professionals
If you'd like to join any of these groups, please contact?Katie Thomas.
Your Team?
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So do feel free to drop us a message for a catch up call or to simply get an update on the UK & EMEA tax market.
