Banks are quietly letting it be known that staff who volunteer for redundancy will get better terms than those who are forced out, according to headhunters. Managers are telling their teams that those who go in the first round of cuts are most likely to get the best deal.

The message is going out to teams under review or which have been identified for downsizing, according to market participants, echoing similar arrangements in the aftermath of the financial crisis and the dotcom crash.