Fury over UK bank job losses as ‘dead’ colleagues in Europe keep their jobs | UK | News

British bankers have criticised European labour laws for preventing ‘dead’ colleagues from the continent from keeping their jobs amid redundancy campaigns. Strict labour laws in Europe have reportedly prompted executives whose businesses have expanded there because of Brexit to reconsider their position.

An unnamed executive told the Today’s Telegraph When layoffs occur, it never impacts Europe, adding: “Even with the recent layoffs, our bank has not been able to get rid of the dead positions in Paris.”

They added that their bank had staff in Paris it had wanted to get rid of for a decade, including an underperforming colleague who, instead of being paid, had offered to move elsewhere on a salary of £500,000.

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

British lawyer Matthew Devey, based in Frankfurt and head of Linklater’s employment practice in Germany, said expats can feel “incredulous” about the legal process, cost and culture.

He said some emigrated to Germany with the impression it was a hard-working society, but then encountered the country’s rather rigid labor laws.

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

The King’s speech included a commitment by the Labour government to secure legislation on a range of workers’ rights, including a ban on some zero-hours contracts and protection from unfair dismissal from the first day of work.

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

Wall Street firms are reportedly hoping the French government would make it easier to lay off workers, and bosses are reportedly reluctant to hire because of France’s strict labor laws.

The unstable political situation in France, protests and potential bankruptcies have shaken the country’s economic elite in recent weeks.

French President Emmanuel Macron has pursued pro-business reforms, but his recent election defeat threatens to derail those efforts, scaring some business leaders.