Double digit pay rises for Scottish employees

Scotland's back-office roles continue to outstrip supply and salaries have surged by over 11% over the last year.

While in London financial services professionals quake in their boots over job security, candidates in Scotland are in control of their own destiny and have enjoyed a pay rise of 11.4%, according to a study by recruiters Joslin Rowe.

Joslin Rowe focuses on back and middle-office roles, such as investment operations - the mainstay of Scottish financial services. The average salary in this area now stands at 21.8k, says the survey, with accountants taking home 30.6k and investment management roles hauling in an average of 31.6k.

The same sort of roles in the City have seen a relatively paltry increase of 2.7%, with the average rise in the UK coming in at 4%.

Margaret Dyer, director of Joslin Rowe in Scotland, reckons financial services recruitment north of the border has so far weathered the global storm: "Edinburgh is the fastest growing financial centre in Europe and firms are continuing to attract top financial talent. This is reflected in the current growth in salaries being enjoyed by candidates."

Temps have been excluded from the party though, with the average rates remaining more or less static at 8.48 an hour from 8.36 last year. In contrast, London temporary workers have come out as winners as permanent recruitment looks increasingly icy. The average financial services temp in the Square Mile can now command 18.09 an hour - up from 16.54 in 2007.

"Fewer institutions in Glasgow and Edinburgh have been forced to put blanket hiring freezes in place - so they aren't having to pay through the nose for temps to do all the work," says Dyer.