Rachel Porteous, Manager of the Transactional and Part-Qualified Finance division at Headstar, shares her thoughts on one of the biggest frustrations currently facing employers – strong roles attracting very little response.
After speaking with finance professionals and employers across Yorkshire, Rachel has noticed a growing disconnect between internal salary structures and live market expectations. In this blog, she explains why the transactional and part-qualified finance market is going through a major salary reset – and why businesses are increasingly being caught off guard when they come to hire.
A Quiet Salary Reset Is Happening
Over the last couple of years, the transactional and part-qualified finance recruitment market has been going through a quiet but significant salary reset.
Hiring managers who’ve been fortunate enough not to recruit for several years are suddenly discovering that the market has moved, and it’s moved quickly. Teams that have felt stable, engaged and fairly paid internally can now appear materially under market value.
It’s not necessarily because businesses have intentionally suppressed salaries. In many cases, it’s because they simply haven’t needed to test the market.
When I first started work in 2011, I earned £4.90 per hour at 16 years old, which at the time felt competitive against the National Minimum Wage of £3.64. Fast forward to 2026 and minimum wage has risen to £8 per hour for 16-year-olds and £12.71 for those aged 21 and over.
That rise is necessary, but it’s created a knock-on effect across finance teams and wider business structures.
The Pressure on Salary Budgets
For businesses with a large number of employees sitting around minimum wage, salary budgets are increasingly being consumed simply by staying compliant. Add in rising National Insurance costs and suddenly there’s very little flexibility left for mid-level and senior hires.
This is where we’re seeing a growing disconnect in the transactional and part-qualified finance market.
Businesses with low attrition often haven’t had to reassess salary levels for years. Their teams are settled, nobody is actively pushing for pay rises (believe it or not, it does happen!), and productivity is good. From an internal perspective, everything feels healthy.
Someone unexpectedly resigns and reality hits. A new headcount gets approved, you review payroll, benchmark against existing salaries and release an advert… only to discover the market is no longer aligned with the internal pay structure.
Candidates are asking for – and getting – significantly higher salaries elsewhere. This isn’t always being driven by aggressive candidate expectations. In many cases, it’s simply the market correcting itself after years of pressure, rising living costs and increased competition within the sector.
Why Transactional Finance Talent Has Become More Valuable
Transactional and part-qualified talent pools have become increasingly valuable. Transactional professionals are no longer viewed as purely operational hires – they’re business critical.
The challenge for employers is balancing commercial reality with market expectations.
Most businesses don’t have unlimited budgets. But equally, the cost of underpaying can cost you more indirectly because of:
- Longer hiring processes
- Increased attrition
- Counteroffers
- Loss of productivity
- Greater pressure on existing teams
- Higher recruitment costs in the long run
Benchmarking Salaries Before You Hire
The businesses navigating this best are the ones proactively benchmarking salaries before they need to hire, rather than reacting once they’re already in the market.
Because by the time the advert goes live, the market has already decided what the role is worth.
If you’d like an up-to-date view of salary expectations across the finance market, Headstar can provide salary benchmarking insight tailored to your hiring needs.
About the Author
Rachel Porteous is an award-winning recruiter with over six years of experience in the recruitment industry. Having rapidly progressed to Manager at Headstar, she now leads the transactional finance division. Known for her positivity and exceptional people skills, Rachel specialises in placing part-qualified and qualified finance professionals across the Yorkshire region.
