Most people in investment banking are expecting bonuses to be poor this year, but technology professionals are anticipating either a derisory figure or a donut, and are not sticking around to find out.

Recruiters in the financial technology space are reporting a surfeit of candidates – this is not just down to redundancies, but because many are not even waiting to receive their bonus before attempting to find a new job.

Research by JM Group, which focuses on investment banking IT roles, suggests that even the best bonuses for technologists will be down by a third on last year, but it’s now increasingly common for people to get nothing.

“With bonuses expected to be insignificant for many we’re seeing a higher supply of candidates in existing jobs looking for work than you’d normally expect for this time of year,” says Dave Pye, CEO of JM Group.

Most people in the financial technology sector were expecting lower bonuses this year, but the sort of figures in the investment banks that have already paid have caused a sense of outrage.

“It’s been well-documented that the bonus pool has shrunk this year and companies have managed expectations, but even then the payouts have taken many by surprise,” says Paul Bennie, director of IT in finance headhunters Bennie Maclean.  “The top performers have been looked after, as have the recent graduate hires, but the middle layer have got virtually nothing – a £500-1,500 payment in some cases.”

Should you be taking the hint? Possibly, but really a derisory bonus is merely providing more of an impetus for technologists to seek roles that offer a better work-life balance, more exciting IT projects or a switch into a new business areas, suggests the JM Group.

“The fact is that some technologists are working on unexciting business-as-usual or operational efficiency projects and being asked to work 14-16 hour days because their teams are depleted through redundancies,” adds Bennie. “These factors, combined with low bonuses, are prompting many to seek work elsewhere.”