In a memo, chief people officer Ian Elliott told the Big Four firm’s 26,000 staff that while the overall bonus pool remains similar to last year, certain areas will experience reductions in average bonuses per person, alongside lower pay rises for some.

The pandemic-era perk of half-day Fridays during summer has also been scaled back from eight weeks last year to six weeks this year. This decision, according to Mr Elliott, was made to balance employee well-being with client needs and work commitments.

This is the second consecutive year of pay and bonus moderation for PwC employees, with pay rises this year averaging 3%, a significant decrease from the highs of 6% in 2023 and 9% in 2022. The firm has also frozen entry-level pay for graduate consultants and placed more junior consultants on performance improvement plans.

An associate at the firm told the Financial Times that “leadership messed up by over-hiring, and now we have to pay for it”, adding that staff are “being offered voluntary redundancy packages and put on Pips if we stay, due to being unfairly rated ‘off track’ by their targeted distribution model for performance reviews”.

A statement from PwC said: “We continue to invest heavily in our people. The vast majority received a bonus and a 3% pay rise, and our summer working hours are continuing once again, albeit for a shorter period.

“Bonuses are discretionary, and there will always be cases where they are not given, such as where performance expectations are not met.”