KPMG and Deloitte are offering UK staff significantly enhanced redundancy packages as both firms move to reduce headcount and trim operational costs.
The two accountancy giants, alongside PwC, have ramped up payouts to employees following a slowdown in the sector’s traditional attrition model, in which around 15 to 20 per cent of staff would typically quit each year.
A tight jobs market has meant far fewer employees are leaving voluntarily, forcing firms to pursue structured redundancy programmes to manage their workforce numbers.
Between KPMG, Deloitte, and PwC, there have been around 600 audit middle-tier jobs on the chopping block so far this year across the three firms.
KPMG announced plans in March to axe over 500 staff across its auditing and advisory divisions, including roughly 440 assistant manager roles in audit and 120 roles in advisory.
According to an internal memo seen by City AM, KPMG confirmed that all affected employees would receive a minimum of eight weeks’ basic salary, including any statutory redundancy pay.
Notably, KPMG waived the standard requirement for two years of continuous employment to qualify for statutory redundancy pay under English employment law.
The firm also removed the government’s statutory cap of £751 on a week’s pay, instead calculating redundancy payouts based on each employee’s actual weekly salary.
The package included payment in lieu of notice or garden leave where applicable, though staff were informed they would not be eligible for any full-year 2026 bonus.
Clare Brennan, employment partner at Hunters Law, explained: “In practice, enhanced redundancy payments are often offered in conjunction with a settlement agreement, giving employees an incentive to waive potential claims in return for a payment that is usually significantly higher than their statutory redundancy entitlement.”
Despite the enhanced terms, a close KPMG source said some staff who had been at the firm for over eight years were unhappy with the offer because junior staff were receiving packages similar to those of more senior long-serving employees.
KPMG confirmed that, following a collective consultation with staff affected by the proposals, it enhanced its redundancy package.
Deloitte, meanwhile, was revealed in June to be laying off nearly 200 audit roles as part of a voluntary redundancy round.
It was understood that as many as 175 auditors, including managers and assistant managers, would be affected, representing less than three per cent of its audit and assurance business and less than one per cent of the UK firm overall.
City AM understands that Deloitte offered a highly generous package including eight months of full pay, with affected employees required to accept by 10 July and depart by the end of that month.
PwC has also reduced its audit division through what the firm described as a “small number of targeted voluntary exits,” rounding out a difficult period for the Big Four’s UK operations.