Bonus season is about to kick off, and the almost universal attitude is that most people working in investment banking are set to be disappointed. It's probably not the best idea to take your disgruntlement to court, however.

According to the Telegraph, increasing numbers of investment bankers are preparing claims against their employers in anticipation of smaller bonus payments, suggesting that people are unwilling to accept the new culture of prudence over pay.

Generally, bonuses are anticipated to shrivel by as much as 50% on last year, with fixed income divisions particularly badly affected, and up to 20% of people in the front office are expected to receive nothing for 2011.

In this era of enforced cost-cutting and prolific redundancies – combined with renewed political pressure to curb banking pay – taking legal action against your employer could be considered unwise.

A shifting legal landscape

"The mood music has undoubtedly changed, and courts are now less receptive to these sort of claims than they were the years up to 2008," says Charles Ferguson at City law firm Ferguson Solicitors. "A lot of people will be dissatisfied with their bonuses this year, but if they can't demonstrate a clearly identifiable stream of income that this particular individual has produced then you have little chance of success."

"Because of the financial climate courts are undoubtedly less sympathetic to claims against employers for smaller bonus payments," adds Philip Landau employment law solicitor and partner at Landau Zeffertt Weir Solicitors. "However, the key is if the employee can prove that the bank has exercised its discretion over bonus payments perversely. If bonuses are down across the board, then claims are unlikely to be justified, but if an individual has been singled out then they definitely have grounds for a claim."

It can also be very costly if your case makes it to the high court and you're unsuccessful. Landau suggests that a case lasting around two days in the high court could cost the claimant up to £100k, but Ferguson says that more complex cases could come in at anything between £150-750k.

The slightly good news is that despite the recent regulatory shake-up around remuneration in the financial sector most individual contracts have remained relatively untouched this year.

"A lot of investment bankers, even in the relatively profitable parts of the business, will receive smaller bonuses this year than they fell 'entitled' to, and a greater number will get zero," says Jon Terry, partner and head of reward at PwC. "Nothing has changed in terms of banks' contractual terms over individuals' variable remuneration – with discretionary payments taking into account bank, business unit and individual performance. However, I'd question the wisdom of taking legal action, because most employers across the industry are taking a similar stance in reducing compensation."

The check list

Obviously, once you start legal proceedings there's plenty of scope for dropping out before the situation becomes too costly or it becomes obvious that it's going to be unsuccessful. Before you even consider suing your employee there are numerous things to bear in mind.

"You need to ensure you have sufficient evidence around the following; your individual performance, how your bonus compares with colleagues at your level in your department or team, the general policy towards bonuses in your bank and the overall profitability of the organisation," says Landau.