We’re pleased to present Sanderson’s brand-new Hiring Trends Report focusing on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector during 2025.

This much anticipated report provides an overview of which roles saw hiring surges and the most demand during 2025, insight into hiring conditions throughout the UK, our expert opinion on where demand might be headed for 2026 as well as data to help guide companies on where they can gain competitive advantages in the market to help them obtain the best candidates out there.

The beginning of 2025 saw many employers demonstrate hesitancy towards their permanent hiring, largely driven by budget restrictions and wider uncertainty in the economic environment. However by the end of the year thanks to factors like a prioritisation of digital transformation causing a surge in demand for AI skillsets, we were seeing hiring conditions improve significantly, even a permanent market that was 44% more active year on year by December 2025.

With market-wide data indicating that 2026 should open with more a more optimistic hiring outlook, now may be the time to reassess your hiring strategies, enhance your understanding of emerging technologies and then address your skills gaps with the right blend of permanent or contractor talent.

This report, using data from VacancySoft and LinkedIn and reviewed by Sanderson’s market-leading experts, reflects on how these trends have shaped hiring throughout the Financial Services sector in 2025, as well as providing predictions on how it may evolve throughout the remainder of 2026.

Do you feel ready for the Umbrella Reforms due to come into effect later this Spring?

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you feel more prepared!

You might have seen that last year we hosted a webinar with PayStream where our Recruitment Services Managing Director William Boney and Head of Operations & Organisational Change Anna Kramer sat down with the PayStream CEO Tony Hodkinson for an informative discussion all about the upcoming tax legislation changes and the Employment Rights Bill 2027.

These changes are set to have an impact on many umbrella companies and be felt across the whole recruitment industry, so we want to help you navigate this period of change.

Watch the Recording

As well as providing you with a link to watch the full recording to get you up to speed on discussion points such as:

• A clear overview of the tax legislation changes, including joint and several liability due in April 2026
• The impact of the Employment Rights Bill due in April 2027
• How this new legislation impacts you and how you can prepare for the change
• How you can protect yourself from liability and carry out appropriate due diligence, including insight into PaySteam’s own 6-Point Compliance Plan
• Exactly what we at Sanderson are doing to ensure compliance across the supply chain and to keep a smooth process for our clients and contractors

This blog will also provide an overview of key questions asked and answered in the informative Q&A session during the webinar. Scroll down to explore…

Umbrella Reforms FAQs

Could a client still be liable if they have not done due diligence on an agency?

Where there is a UK agency in the supply chain between the client and umbrella company, the agency and umbrella company are the ones liable if there is a tax liability. The client would not be jointly and severally liable in that scenario.

If an agency cannot pay a tax bill, does liability flow back up the contractual chain?

The legislation does not currently suggest that liability could flow up the chain if neither the umbrella or agency could pay the bill. However, we’re still waiting on official guidance and the legislation is only in draft format, it may of course change before it receives Royal Assent.

Could consulting companies who are acting like an MSP for a client be held liable under the Umbrella Reform legislation?

Yes, we believe that MSPs will be on the hook should any tax liability accrue in relation to a non-compliant umbrella company in the supply chain. “Umbrella company arrangements” are broadly defined in the draft legislation such as to include these types of contractual arrangements with the end client.

What steps are the FCSA are taking in regards to the Umbrella Reform legislation? And, if they find a member to be non-compliant could they reject their membership and be transparent to agencies?

The FCSA themselves will be best placed to answer this question in the most detail, but yes we do understand the FCSA to have robust policies in place to investigate members for alleged non-compliance with its compliance codes, and that can ultimately lead to suspension and even expulsion for serious breaches.

Do you see clients (or MSPs) simply banning the use of umbrella companies as a result of this legislation?

The Employment Rights Bill is adding more complexity and litigation risk to employers, causing a headache for many businesses. Where an end client engages with an agency that has a connected or in-house umbrella company, we perceive clients moving towards independent umbrella companies to ensure the joint and several risk falls on the umbrella company and the agency. We also perceive clients reducing and dictating the umbrella PSL to ensure only financially robust, compliant and trusted partners are engaged in the supply chain

Could all of this extra administration lead to higher umbrella fees?

Yes, we foresee that umbrella margins will be under more pressure. There will be additional cost for the umbrella in evidencing its compliance, such as third-party payslip checking software. However, it may hopefully level the playing field and increase volumes as non-compliant operators exit the market.

Why would agencies be liable before umbrella companies? What would this look like in practice, if, for example, a simple mistake is made by an umbrella company?

HMRC will consider what “relevant parties” there are in the supply chain. The umbrella and the agency that holds the contract with the client will be jointly and severally liable. If there is no agency, liability will sit with the umbrella and client. In a recent policy paper, HMRC said joint and several liability will allow them to pursue an agency in the first instances for any payroll taxes that a non-compliant umbrella company fails to remit to HMRC. If a compliant umbrella company has made an innocent error in their payroll taxes, it does seem more likely that HMRC will go directly to the umbrella company to resolve the issue. Official guidance may clarify this for us in the coming months.

Next Steps

Do you have any more questions in regards to the Umbrella Reform changes due to come into effect in a few months? Don’t hesitate to reach out to Will Boney to find out more.

When you need to tighten up your talent strategy and get the right people on board to achieve your goals, sometimes you need a helping hand that works with you flexibly to address your needs.

That’s exactly what a Project RPO can do for you.

As a flexible recruitment solution, Project RPO offers many of the benefits of outsourcing all your recruitment to a resourcing partner, but without the long-term commitment. It can be delivered as a “one off” engagement, working as an extension of your in-house talent team to source, screen and deliver the right candidates or teams as and when you need them. Basically, acting as a helping hand, saving time for you to navigate the day-to-day BAU.

And this is what the Sanderson team are experts in and is something we recently implemented for a leading workplace pensions provider who needed to bolster and upskill their customer service teams.

Our team thrives on absorbing each client’s culture and acting as an extension of their brand, designing and delivering bespoke solutions that successfully meets client challenges and objectives, so read on to find out how we did just that….

What was the challenge?

The client approached Sanderson as they were looking for a partner that could deliver a bespoke solution to address two of their resourcing challenges.

Getting the right candidates 

Firstly, they needed to attract and select high-quality customer service professionals across various UK regions. Having embedded ourselves with the talent teams, we quickly ascertained that they were struggling with candidate calibre. With customer service and telephony roles crucial to their business operations, they were facing issues attracting candidates that had experience here as well as in a financial services environment.

Demand was increasing and they needed to recruit approximately 120 customer service candidates in only 12 months.

Hiring manager knowledge gaps 

Secondly, they needed to design a capability improvement programme to upskill their hiring manager and talent team community on interview best practices and decision making so they can better promote their brand, while also selecting high quality candidates.

What was our solution?

Our Project RPO team quickly set to work to address both of these challenges, breaking it down into two flexible workstreams:

Attraction and selection

Within the 12-month timeline, we successfully recruited 12-15 candidates that reached the desired quality benchmarks every month for 12 months. This was achieved by designing bespoke attraction channels such as proactive sourcing, talent mapping, social media accounts and targeted advertisements (which were run by our teams) and geo-marketing campaigns.

We then implemented a fluid but structured selection process that both delivers an outstanding candidate and hiring manager experience. The selection process was broken down into multiple stages including pre-defined candidate qualification criteria for recruiters to work towards, a quality assurance call with the Sanderson team before an interview with the client team following a new structure implemented by us.

Hiring manager training

We also collaborated with their internal hiring manager and talent teams to design and develop an interview training programme that was delivered via multiple workshops. This was to ensure the hiring manager community identify and select appropriate skill sets and behaviours that will add significant value to the organisation, as well as ensuring they adequately promote the organisations brand when selecting candidates.

As this was a Project RPO and so the client still retains overall control of their recruitment strategies, we ensured this training was future-proofed so that upon completion of the Project, the internal teams are well placed to train each other on the tools, process and techniques we’ve set them up with.

Speaking with the client’s Director of Customer Engagement, they said:

“Sanderson quickly recognised our resource challenges and invested real time and energy in understanding our needs. Through their commitment and collaboration, they’ve built a strong working relationship with us and have become a trusted and valued partner.”

What we achieved together

Following the completion of the first stages of this Project RPO, the client has already seen incredible results like:

• 85%+ fulfilment of intakes within the first 6 months of the service
• 80 started or future starters
• 60+ head count filled
• 83% interview to offer ratio
• 90% score on candidate satisfaction surveys
• Reduced hiring manager touch time on interviews
• Hiring manager training complete
• The right candidates hired with the necessary experience
• Candidates feel listened to and supported throughout the process

Could we help you achieve similar results? 

Our Project RPO solutions are designed for businesses who need access to talent acquisition expertise but are not looking to outsource everything. Our solution can be delivered as a “one off” engagement as an extension of your teams to source, screen and deliver the right people as and when you need them. As your resourcing partner, Sanderson will act as a helping hand, saving time for you to navigate your people strategies.

If you’re interested to find out more, head over to our Project RPO page here.

Get in touch

We’re always open to a chat to discuss how we may be able to help you achieve similar results, so please do reach out.

Cyber-attacks are no longer just an IT concern; they’re a strategic business issue that can impact any organisation.

In fact, recent surveys by The Guardian found that more than 25% of UK businesses have already been hit by a cyber-attack during 2025, and 73% of surveyed business leaders believe a cyber-security incident will disrupt their business in the next 12 to 24 months…!

These sobering statistics are now prompting many businesses to take action. Fast.

With this increased demand for cyber-security professionals a critical talent gap is emerging leaving businesses exposed if not addressed. And that’s where we come in.

How we help build your cyber resilience

The Sanderson Projects team works with you to ensure your organisation is set up to defend itself. And we’re pleased to have helped multiple business improve their capability by:

• Providing niche technical skillsets through our full selection service to reduce client overhead time
• Provide candidates with the right cultural fit thanks to our experienced SMEs
• Shared the financial risk ensuring value beyond delivery

All at a highly competitive price point thanks to not passing on any overheads to clients.

Why cyber resilience should be a priority in your hiring strategy

Safeguarding Critical Data

Businesses now handle vast amounts of sensitive information. Whether it’s customer data, intellectual property, or financial records, a breach can have devastating consequences.

Skilled cyber security teams are vital for:

• Identifying vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them.
• Implementing robust data protection protocols.
• Ensuring compliance with regulations such as the UK GDPR.

Mitigating Financial Risks with AI

The financial impact of cyber-attacks extends beyond immediate recovery costs. Downtime, lost revenue, legal liabilities, and regulatory fines can all add up.

Strengthening Customer Trust

A strong cyber security team isn’t just about defence; it’s a competitive advantage. Consumers are increasingly scrutinising how companies handle their data, and so investing in cyber resilience builds trust and helps protect your brand’s reputation.

Navigating Emerging Threats

The rise of AI-driven cyber-attacks requires a new level of expertise. Cyber security professionals with skills in AI and machine learning can:

• Develop predictive analytics to identify threats before they materialise.
• Create automated defence mechanisms to counter evolving attacks.

Next steps

As cyber threats continue to rise, the question is no longer whether to invest in cyber security teams, but how quickly organisations can scale up their defences.

For businesses aiming to remain competitive, resilient, and trusted in an increasingly digital world, the answer lies in prioritising the recruitment of top-tier cybersecurity talent.

Do you fancy a chat about how we can help get you the skills on board to safeguard your own business against cyber threats?

Get in touch with Victoria King today and let’s get started.

[email protected]

October 2025 marked a decisive period for hiring across the UK financial services sector, with regional and functional trends revealing how digital transformation, regulation, and geopolitics continue to reshape workforce priorities.

From London’s insurers to Scotland’s fintech ecosystem and the North West’s risk and compliance hubs, recruitment momentum is shifting towards technical, data-driven and regulatory disciplines that underpin the sector’s long-term stability.

Then looking ahead, will the interplay between regulation, AI adoption and geopolitical risk continue to drive recruitment patterns into 2026?

Well here at Sanderson, we always have our finger on the pulse of the latest changes in the market so that we can help you better understand how new trends might impact your hiring plans and then support you to turn these into opportunities when it comes to your financial services recruitment.

So, with that in mind, we’re pleased to have produced this new Report with VacancySoft that sums up the latest trends we’ve been seeing in the UK Financial Services market during October.

Have a sneak peek at some of the highlights below and scroll down to grab your copy!

London Market Trend Highlights

• IT vacancies have risen 11% year on year reflecting renewed investment in digital transformation.
• Insurers are prioritising digital resilience, automation and data-centric decision making rather than cyclical hiring.
• IT management roles encompassing change, projects and transformation have overtaken traditional broking vacancies for the first time with IT security vacancies projected to be 20.9% higher than 2024.

North West Market Trend Highlights

• Hiring has gathered significant pace banking.
• Demand for credit risk specialists is spiking with vacancies here now 42% above 2024 levels.
• Operational roles have risen by 21% during the first 9 months of 2025 with financial crime vacancies already exceeding last years total.

Scotland Market Trend Highlights

• Fintech hiring has accelerated dramatically with vacancies already 84.8% higher than 2024.
• Banking is accounting for around 75-80% of Scotland’s total financial services vacancies.
• Total fintech vacancies in Scotland are up 50% year on year, with the country’s share of UK fintech hiring rising from 2.7% in 2023 to 4.4% in 2025.

If you would like a more detailed overview of these trends, including the latest market data, monthly vacancy totals and insight into the top job roles by sector, then please do download a copy of the full Report via the form below.

Have any further questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, we’re well placed to help.

If you’re in the market to deliver real business value from your contingent workforce and are exploring the world of Managed Service Programmes (MSPs), you might be looking for a resource to help guide you through the process and to answer any questions on if this is the solution for you?

We hear you!

We recently sat down with Sanderson client Karl Whelpdale, a Strategic Procurement Lead with over 30 years’ experience in external workforce management and delivery of global MSP and contractor solutions to get his insights into first-time MSP deployment, why an MSP could be a good option to manage your contractors and advice on starting an MSP journey of your own.

Let’s dive in…

What challenges might arise if you’re managing a contingent workforce without an MSP?

Without an MSP in place, organisations may struggle with fragmented processes and limited visibility on their contractor population. You might face issues like different departments using their own suppliers, inconsistent rates, poor compliance and even a risk around IR35. Not to mention onboarding delays, a significant manual effort for HR, Finance, and Procurement and then ultimately find it difficult to control costs, manage risk, or plan strategically thanks to the lack of a unified solution.

What might trigger a business to consider implementing an MSP for the first time?

Typically, this can be a combination of pain points. Think spiralling contractor costs, audit or compliance issues, and overworked internal teams. Or sometimes it’s as simple as needing access to talent at speed, especially in competitive markets. A well-designed MSP can introduce the control, transparency and agility that’s needed when you want to scale your business.

What are the key stages in successfully deploying an MSP?

You can break this down into four simple steps. First up, start with discovery. Understand the current state of your contingent workforce, map your stakeholders and gather data. Secondly, look at design. Define what success looks like to your business, choose your supplier model and build a governance framework. Thirdly, build and test. Look at how you can integrate systems, train users and prepare for go-live. And fourth and finally you’re at post-launch. Here it’s all about adoption and continuous improvement based on metrics and feedback.

What should you consider when selecting an MSP partner?

As well as having experience in delivering first-generation Managed Service Programmes, other key factors to consider in a talent partner are: a supplier who understands your business culture and industry, someone who’s happy to introduce you to current clients and invite you to meet their teams, whether the provider can offer the level of support you require and if the provider has the tech stacks you’re hoping to use.

Why is stakeholder engagement critical for MSP success?

Stakeholder engagement is critical for a smooth MSP implementation process. If you have early and ongoing buy-in from teams like HR, Legal, Finance (and especially your Hiring Managers) and you ensure they all understand “why” an MSP is critical for your business operations, you’re going to experience a far smoother implementation process.

What makes a first-time MSP deployment uniquely challenging?

When you’re starting from scratch it can be overwhelming when faced with no baseline data or established processes, let alone trying to piece together a raft of legacy suppliers. But if you set your expectations early and formulate a structured roll out plan, you’ll be on your way to smoothly deploying your first MSP with ease.

How can you measure the success of your MSP programme?

To effectively measure the success of your MSP programme, start with leading indicators like time-to-fill, shortlist ratios, and hiring manager satisfaction. Then move on to things like cost savings, compliance rates, tenure of contractors, and redeployment levels. Remember that success isn’t just about cost, it’s about quality, control, and speed to productivity.

What are the long-term benefits of implementing an MSP properly?

A properly implemented MSP will bring with it a whole range of benefits. From gaining full visibility and control of your external workforce, to reducing your risk, increasing your agility and positioning your business to being able to quickly adapt to market changes. You’ll also find that your organisation becomes more strategic, not just reactive as you’ll have built yourself a foundation for total talent strategies and the blending of your permanent, temporary and freelance workers.

Ready to get started? 

Sanderson are specialists in MSP deployment, so please do reach out to Karen Alexander, Sanderson Solutions Managing Director or contact our expert team if you would like a discussion around your MSP ambitions.

We’ve also created a video guide 

To help bring the world of MSP deployment to life, we’ve created an exclusive video guide so you can explore the practice of MSP in action.

Click here to watch the videos.

On Wednesday 15th October 2025 Sanderson’s Recruitment Services Managing Director Will Boney and Head of Operations & Organisational Change Anna Kramer sat down with PayStream CEO Tony Hodkinson to deliver a webinar discussing the upcoming tax legislation changes that are set to have an impact on many umbrella companies and across the whole recruitment industry.

Will, Karen and Tony chatted about what these changes mean and when they are due to come into force, how it affects you, and what we are doing here at Sanderson to ensure we’re compliant across the supply chain.

If you missed this webinar, you can still listen to the full recording where we cover the discussion points below, along with practical tips for businesses to navigate this period of change.

Watch the full recording of the Umbrella Reform Webinar here

The webinar covered key discussion points like:

• A clear overview of the tax legislation changes, including joint and several liability due in April 2026
• The impact of the Employment Rights Bill due in April 2027
• How this new legislation impacts you and how you can prepare for the change
• How you can protect yourself from liability and carry out appropriate due diligence, including insight into PaySteam’s own 6-Point Compliance Plan
• Exactly what we at Sanderson are doing to ensure compliance across the supply chain and to keep a smooth process for our clients and contractors
• An informative Q&A session with live and burning questions from attendees

Are you reviewing how your organisation currently manages your permanent hiring?

Do you like the sound of a full-service recruitment solution that takes accountability for your entire permanent hiring process?

An Enterprise RPO could be the solution for you!

Helping you with anything from:

• Providing more flexibility so you can easily respond to surges in hiring demand
• Reducing the administrative burden on your internal resources
• Getting access to the best talent on the market
• Supporting your employer branding and workforce succession planning

In our BRAND-NEW GUIDE we provide step by step information on how an Enterprise RPO could optimise how you approach permanent hiring, lay out exactly what it is, what the benefits are and how you can get started with a solution of your own.

You may have heard about the upcoming 2026 tax legislation changes that are set to have an impact on many umbrella companies and across the whole recruitment industry.

Please join us on a webinar where Sanderson and Paystream will share more about what these changes mean, how it affects you, and what we are doing here at Sanderson to ensure we’re compliant across the supply chain.

The webinar will provide:

• A clear overview of the tax legislation changes, including joint and several liability
• How this new legislation impacts you and how you can prepare for the change
• What we at Sanderson are doing to ensure compliance across the supply chain
• A dedicated Q&A session to answer your questions.

You’ll be hearing from Presenters: Tony Hodkinson (COO at Paystream), Will Boney (Recruitment Services Managing Director at Sanderson) and Anna Kramer (Head of Operations & Organisational Change at Sanderson)

The Details

• Date: Wednesday 15th October 2025
• Time: 12pm -12:45pm
• Location: Webinar via Microsoft Teams

Please click here to register your place.

We’re pleased to present Sanderson’s brand-new Hiring Trends Report focusing on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector in H1 2025.

This much anticipated report provides an overview of how hiring during the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year, how demand was distributed across the UK, and which roles were most sought after across banking, insurance, life & pensions, and investment management.

The first half of 2025 has seen many businesses proceed with caution in their permanent and contract hiring thanks to persistent inflation, concerns over US tariffs, ongoing geopolitical instability and the impact of National Insurance Contributions changing.

However despite this climate, strategic priorities across the financial services sector are sustaining demand for high-quality digital, technology, change, and transformation professionals. We’re also seeing businesses increase their investment in digital and artificial intelligence platforms to modernise legacy infrastructure, meet evolving regulatory requirements and enhance their customer experience.

As we approach the latter half of the year, now may be the time to reassess your hiring strategies, enhance your understanding of emerging technologies and then address your skills gaps with the right blend of permanent or contractor talent.

This report, using data from VacancySoft and LinkedIn and reviewed by Sanderson’s market-leading experts, reflects on how these trends have shaped hiring throughout the Financial Services sector in H1 2025, as well as providing predictions on how it may evolve throughout the remainder of the year.