Fancy a £20k bonus and a brand new job?

Desperate employers fighting for staff in Britain’s increasingly tight jobs market are being forced to stump up tens of thousands of pounds in signing- on bonuses and other perks.

Over 12,000 advertised vacancies are offering “golden hello” deals worth up to £20,000, according to research by job search engine Adzuna.

A year ago only 5,000 roles had signing bonuses, suggesting companies are being forced to be inventive in a jobs market where the number of vacancies has outnumbered the total unemployed for the first time.

Ryan Jones, 28, said a tech firm offered him a £ 7,000 signing- on bonus for a talent acquisition role after his company matched the proposed salary.

“It’s pretty normal in today’s market. Some of our senior guys got £ 10,000 to £ 15,000 signing- on bonuses,” he said.

These bonuses can range from £ 1,000 to as much as £ 10,000, and take in a range of positions across the country, including fully remote roles, according to Adzuna.

Pharmaceutical company Parexel is offering new hires a bonus of £10,000 for a new fully remote clinical trials manager, while Menlo Park, a healthcare recruitment firm, is offering a £20,000 golden hello for a GP position in Bournemouth.

Of the 12,710 UK vacancies included in the data, the top sectors for signing- on bonuses include healthcare and nursing (4,244 vacancies advertising bonuses), social work ( 3,150), sales ( 1,743), hospitality and catering ( 818), and teaching ( 591). Roles included a dentist in Bridlington, with a £15,000 bonus, a sous chef in Mold, Wales, with a £1,000 signing- on payment, and a British Gas engineer, with a £3,000 golden hello.

Recruiter Ellen Simpson said employers often use signing- on bonuses when they can’t secure funding for a higher base salary.

“If you can only get a £50,000 base salary signed off, they might instead throw in a £ 5,000 car allowance, a £5,000 signing-on bonus or both,” she said. “Then all of a sudden that person has £60,000 to play with.”

Employers have come to rely on signing-on bonuses as a way of speeding up the hiring process, but Adzuna’s Paul Lewis warned applicants to be wary as a higher salary without bonus often ends up being the more lucrative option in the longer term.

“To secure the extra cash, speed is key. Often, employers offering bonuses are doing so because they need to fill positions fast,” Mr Lewis said. “Even with the lure of a tasty bonus, don’t forget to read the small print.

“Make sure you understand what’s on offer, when a bonus will be paid, and any criteria you need to meet in order to receive the full amount. Some bonuses come with conditions such as minimum tenure, or performance goals. Others may introduce noncompete clauses.”