The firm’s 4,400-strong tax division are set to receive a 2.2% base salary increase, a decrease from previous years with 6% and 10% increases in 2023 and 2022, respectively. Bonuses were also reduced, and a small number of partners were let go, Financial Times reports.

This follows a 3% pay rise at rival firm PwC, also down from prior years.

EY employees’ bonuses are calculated using a “variable performance share price” system, which has resulted in bonuses in the tax business ranging from £500 to £4,000 this year, depending on rank. The firm maintains that its tax practice “continuing to grow” and explained that pay rewards, as do bonuses, “vary” according to the performance of each individual and business unit.