Take as much holiday as you like, City broker tells staff

A City of London broker will allow its employees to take as many holidays as they want in a bid to prevent staff burnout. 

FinnCap, which specialises in companies on London’s junior Aim market, will offer unlimited paid breaks to its 155 staff from next year. 

The chief executive, Sam Smith, told Bloomberg that the firm’s investment bankers, salespeople and other employees will be required to take a minimum of at least four weeks off a year and two or three days every three months. 

She said: “There’s not a maximum, there’s a minimum you must take. The rest is up to you.” 

It comes as firms look to keep staff on side following an unprecedented period of activity for capital markets during the pandemic. 

That has taken its toll on the health of finance workers, with junior staff in particular reporting burnout after working extremely long hours. 

In March, junior Goldman Sachs bankers begged to work just 80 hours a week, after a leaked survey highlighted how “inhumane” expectations were leading to mental health issues among staff. 

Holiday policies similar to the one announced by FinnCap are increasingly common among tech companies, but many financial services businesses are still wedded to a brutal long-hours culture. 

LinkedIn and Netflix are among firms that offer versions of an “unlimited vacation” policy. 

Ms Smith said: “Burnout is not resolved by a quick two-week holiday. It is resolved by properly changing the way you work.”

The company also outlined a list of activities, such as vet visits and plumber callouts, that would not count towards holiday leave. 

The broker reported a record set of half-year results, boosted by a boom in dealmaking, with revenues jumping by 55pc to £31.7m for the period. 

Ms Smith, who became the City’s first female stockbroker chief when she founded the firm in 2007, added: “The results show that our strategy of building a broader financial advisory firm is working.  

“We will continue to invest across all areas of the business to broaden our offering and ensure that we can help our clients drive their growth, capitalise on opportunity and deliver their ambition.”